Egypt: Army chief seeks mandate to fight violence

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's military chief on Wednesday called on his countrymen to hold mass demonstrations to voice their support for the army and police to deal with potential "violence and terrorism," a move that signals a stepped up campaign against supporters of the ousted Islamist president.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, addressing a graduation ceremony for a class of military cadets, urged Egyptians to take to the streets Friday, saying a massive turnout would give him a "mandate" and an "order" to do what is "necessary" to stop bloodshed.

Since the military removed Mohammed Morsi three weeks ago, the ousted president's Islamist supporters have taken to the streets vowing to continue protests until he is restored. Clashes have erupted multiple times between the Islamists and Morsi opponents or security forces.

Each side accuses the other of starting the violence. Dozens have been killed, mostly from the pro-Morsi side, including more than 50 who were killed by troops during clashes at their Cairo sit-in.

Throughout, the military and its allied media have depicted the protesters as a dangerous armed movement. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and its allies say their protests are peaceful. The group accuses troops or thugs hired by the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, of attacking pro-Morsi rallies, careful to avoid any impression that

At the same time, Islamic militants have stepped up attacks on security forces in Sinai Peninsula since Morsi's fall, killing nearly 20 soldiers and policemen and raising fears of a wave of militant violence.

On Wednesday, suspected militants killed two soldiers and wounded three others in four separate attacks in Sinai.

In the early hours Wednesday, a bomb went off outside the main police headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansou6ra, wounding 19 people. Presidential spokesman Ahmed el-Muslemani called the attack an act of terrorism.

The Mansoura bombing is a possible sign that a militant campaign could be spreading to Egypt's heartland, where so far the violence has been restricted to street clashes between the two sides.

El-Sissi's address Wednesday in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria was a strong sign that the top general is the source of real power in Egypt, despite his assertions that authority has been handed completely to the civilian government set up after Morsi's fall.

El-Sissi called for rallies Friday to be as large as those on June 30, when millions took to the streets to demand Morsi's ouster, and July 3, when millions again celebrated his ouster. He promised police and troops would guard the rallies.

The call for demonstrations is likely to be matched by similar calls by Morsi's supporters, raising the specter of violence on Friday.

"On Friday, every honorable and honest Egyptian must come out. Come out and remind the whole world that you have a will and resolve of your own," el-Sissi said. "Please, shoulder your responsibility with me, your army and the police and show your size and steadfastness in the face of what is going on," said the U.S.-trained general.

El-Sissi cautioned that his call for mass demonstrations should not be taken as an invitation to violence.

Commenting on el-Sissi's address, Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood leader, made it clear that the Morsi camp intends to stick to its guns. "There is no solution except rescinding the coup and the return of legitimacy," he told Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday boycotted the inaugural session of a reconciliation conference sponsored by interim President Adly Mansour. The session was chaired by Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's top reform campaigner who was named vice president after Morsi's ouster.

The July 3 coup that ousted Morsi followed four days of mass protests by millions of Egyptians demanding that he step down.

Morsi's supporters insist he must be reinstated, branding his ouster as a coup against democracy. The former president was Egypt's first freely elected leader, but his opponents say he concentrated too much power in his own hands and his Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

El-Sissi said on Wednesday that he had no intention, "not a for a second," to go back on a political road map he announced the day he ousted Morsi, which entailed parliamentary and presidential elections by early 2014 and a referendum before that on a new constitution or amendments to the one drafted by Morsi's Islamist backers.

He promised foreign observers from the U.N. and the European Union would be invited to monitor the elections. "We are ready for an election to be supervised by the whole world," he said.

El-Sissi was a member of the military council that ruled Egypt for nearly 17 months after the ouster in 2011 of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. He was the chief of military intelligence at the time. Morsi named him defense minister and military chief in August 2012.

On Wednesday, el-Sissi sharply criticized Morsi and the Brotherhood, repeating assertions he has repeatedly made in the last three weeks that they were driving the country toward civil strife and imposing their own brand of Islam to a mostly resistant population.

He said he had never shied away from speaking his mind to Morsi.

"Don't ever think that I deceived the former president. I repeatedly told him that the army is the army of all Egyptians and stands at an equal distance from all parties. I told him that the army is under his command because he had an electoral mandate," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-army-chief-seeks-mandate-fight-violence-101906312.html

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New study shows inbreeding in winter flounder in Long Island's bays

Public release date: 24-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cindy Yeast
cdyeast@earthlink.net
720-542-9455
The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science

Scientists from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University advise that loss of genetic diversity presents survival risks for historically common marine fish and should be considered in fisheries management

STONY BROOK, NY, July 24, 2013Research conducted in six bays of Long Island, NY, and led by scientists from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University (SBU) showed that local populations of winter flounder are inbred, which is a situation that is not usually considered in marine fisheries management. The scientists also determined that the effective number of breeders in each bay was below 500 fish, suggesting that the spawning populations of this historically common fish are now relatively small in the area.

"Severe inbreeding and small effective number of breeders in a formerly abundant marine fish," was published online in the journal PLOS ONE, and is one of the first studies indicating the occurrence of inbreeding in a marine fish. The scientists extracted genomic DNA from the fins of 267 young of the year winter flounder caught over a period of several months in 2010 and 2011, and used 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci (molecular markers) to test for genetic diversity.

"While documented to occur in freshwater fish, inbreeding in marine fish is generally not a serious concern because of their perceived ability to move through larger areas to find mates and, historically anyway, their much larger population sizes making it unlikely they would spawn with relatives," said Shannon O'Leary, lead author and doctoral student at SBU. "Our research suggests that the possibility of inbreeding should be considered in the management of some commercially and recreationally exploited marine fish."

Inbreeding has been linked to lower survival and reproductive rates as well as lower resistance to disease and environmental stress, which could directly contribute to the failure of fish populations to recover from exploitation. However, since inbreeding has not been considered likely in marine fish, current fisheries management practices have been developed without incorporating its associated risks.

"We are just beginning to realize that marine fish frequently exist as a series of smaller subpopulations as opposed to one large, well-mixed and widely distributed population," said Dr. Demian Chapman, leader of the research team, who is an assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and assistant director for science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at SBU. "The evidence of inbreeding we have found supports this new paradigm. The number of effective breeders in each bay is also alarmingly low and argues for strong fisheries management and habitat restoration initiatives to rebuild winter flounder populations in Long Island bays."

###

Genetic analyses for this research were supported by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science with operational funds from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Microsatellite amplification was carried out in the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution operated with support from the Pritzker Foundation. Shinnecock Bay fish were sampled during the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Project, which is funded by the Laurie Landeau Foundation and matched by a gift from the Simons Foundation. Further funding was granted by the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program (NOAA) and a NY DOS grant for field work in Hempstead Bays.

To read the article "Severe inbreeding and small effective number of breeders in a formerly abundant marine fish," please go to: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066126.

The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is the State University of New York's center for marine and atmospheric research, education and public service. With more than 85 faculty and staff and more than 500 students engaged in interdisciplinary research and education, SoMAS is at the forefront of advancing knowledge and discovering and resolving environmental challenges affecting the oceans and atmosphere on both regional and global scales. http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/

The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation through science. The Institute transforms real-world policy while pursuing serious science, both of which are essential for ocean health. http://www.oceanconservationscience.org/

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cindy Yeast
cdyeast@earthlink.net
720-542-9455
The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science

Scientists from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University advise that loss of genetic diversity presents survival risks for historically common marine fish and should be considered in fisheries management

STONY BROOK, NY, July 24, 2013Research conducted in six bays of Long Island, NY, and led by scientists from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University (SBU) showed that local populations of winter flounder are inbred, which is a situation that is not usually considered in marine fisheries management. The scientists also determined that the effective number of breeders in each bay was below 500 fish, suggesting that the spawning populations of this historically common fish are now relatively small in the area.

"Severe inbreeding and small effective number of breeders in a formerly abundant marine fish," was published online in the journal PLOS ONE, and is one of the first studies indicating the occurrence of inbreeding in a marine fish. The scientists extracted genomic DNA from the fins of 267 young of the year winter flounder caught over a period of several months in 2010 and 2011, and used 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci (molecular markers) to test for genetic diversity.

"While documented to occur in freshwater fish, inbreeding in marine fish is generally not a serious concern because of their perceived ability to move through larger areas to find mates and, historically anyway, their much larger population sizes making it unlikely they would spawn with relatives," said Shannon O'Leary, lead author and doctoral student at SBU. "Our research suggests that the possibility of inbreeding should be considered in the management of some commercially and recreationally exploited marine fish."

Inbreeding has been linked to lower survival and reproductive rates as well as lower resistance to disease and environmental stress, which could directly contribute to the failure of fish populations to recover from exploitation. However, since inbreeding has not been considered likely in marine fish, current fisheries management practices have been developed without incorporating its associated risks.

"We are just beginning to realize that marine fish frequently exist as a series of smaller subpopulations as opposed to one large, well-mixed and widely distributed population," said Dr. Demian Chapman, leader of the research team, who is an assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and assistant director for science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at SBU. "The evidence of inbreeding we have found supports this new paradigm. The number of effective breeders in each bay is also alarmingly low and argues for strong fisheries management and habitat restoration initiatives to rebuild winter flounder populations in Long Island bays."

###

Genetic analyses for this research were supported by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science with operational funds from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Microsatellite amplification was carried out in the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution operated with support from the Pritzker Foundation. Shinnecock Bay fish were sampled during the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Project, which is funded by the Laurie Landeau Foundation and matched by a gift from the Simons Foundation. Further funding was granted by the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program (NOAA) and a NY DOS grant for field work in Hempstead Bays.

To read the article "Severe inbreeding and small effective number of breeders in a formerly abundant marine fish," please go to: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066126.

The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is the State University of New York's center for marine and atmospheric research, education and public service. With more than 85 faculty and staff and more than 500 students engaged in interdisciplinary research and education, SoMAS is at the forefront of advancing knowledge and discovering and resolving environmental challenges affecting the oceans and atmosphere on both regional and global scales. http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/

The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation through science. The Institute transforms real-world policy while pursuing serious science, both of which are essential for ocean health. http://www.oceanconservationscience.org/

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/tifo-nss072313.php

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Texas Dems see chance to become relevant again

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? It would seem that Texas Republicans have never been stronger. An all-but-certain Republican successor is emerging to follow the departing Gov. Rick Perry. They're jubilant over their victory at the Capitol, where a GOP-heavy legislature plowed through a bill to sharply restrict abortions.

Behind the scenes, however, anxious Republicans and hopeful opponents are poring over data suggesting that the GOP hegemony may end.? With the state's Hispanic population growing rapidly and voting overwhelmingly Democratic, Democrats should be able to compete for statewide office again in the next decade after a 20-year eclipse, strategists in both parties agree.?

"Republicans have at most one two-term governor left in them. From 2022 on, everything is up for grabs," said Republican pollster David Hill, who runs a firm in suburban Houston. "Numbers don't lie," he added. "We're going to completely undo the alignment."

No one disputes that a huge opportunity is fast approaching for the Democrats. Potential candidates are already waiting in the wings, including the party's telegenic new star, Sen. Wendy Davis, who led a dramatic, if ultimately futile, effort to hold off the latest abortion legislation.

But what actually comes of it, and when, rests on a number of factors in dispute.

Can Democrats turn enough Hispanic residents into Hispanic voters? In the last governor's election in 2010, only 24 percent of Hispanics voted compared to 44 percent of whites. Democrats have set up a massive new voter targeting effort aimed at pushing the Hispanic rate beyond 30 percent, potentially enough to close the party's vote gap in elections.

Can Republicans attract a larger share of the Hispanic vote and neutralize the demographic bulge? Republican strategists believe future GOP candidates can stretch the meager 38 percent Perry got in his last race into the 40s by working harder to appeal to this group. But how to do it? by stressing the GOP's self-help economics or conservative social values -- is a matter of debate.

"There clearly is a wave out there. It's up to the each one of the parties to figure out how to ride it," said Todd Olsen, a Republican strategist and key adviser to Texas Sen. John Cornyn.

The consequences of what happens extend far beyond Texas. No other state except California, which has the nation's largest population, carries as much weight in national elections. A shift by Texas from a GOP stronghold to a two-party battleground would seriously complicate the GOP's plan for winning presidential elections.

Few foresee any changes in the short term. Even without three-term incumbent Perry on the ballot, leading Democrats have not rushed to replace him. Texas' Republican attorney general, Greg Abbott, who already has a $20 million campaign treasury, appears to be a strong favorite to win the governor's race.

The era of Republican dominance in Texas came about when conservative whites began moving en masse to the party two decades ago_a phenomenon felt across the South. The Democratic political organization began to atrophy, leaving the party ill equipped to capitalize on the growing Hispanic immigration.

Now, Democrats insist, a change is at hand.

By 2020, Hispanics are projected to reach more than 42 percent of the state population, up from 38 percent in 2010. They will be the state's largest racial or ethnic group. Whites will rank second at 39 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. Newly eligible Hispanic voters will outnumber newly eligible whites four to one.

"Ultimately, it suggests they would be increasingly dominant," said the state's leading demographer, Steve Murdoch, a sociologist at Rice University in Houston.

In February, President Obama's 2012 campaign field director, Jeremy Bird, set up an Austin-based operation to identify and register the roughly 1.5 million Hispanic citizens who are not on the voter rolls. A similar effort during the presidential campaign increased Obama's Hispanic vote in Florida, Colorado and Nevada. The Texas group has raised more than $1.1 million for the effort, according to a campaign disclosure report scheduled for release Monday.

Volunteers are canvassing Latino neighborhoods in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande River valley. A small-scale version in 21 precincts in largely Hispanic East Austin in 2010 helped produce turnout 20 points higher than the county average.

"No matter what happens in 2014, we need to see it as a stepping stone," said Bird. "We really need to, long term, cement the infrastructure."

But Republican campaign officials insist that Hispanic voters are not inherently Democrats. Persuasive Republican candidates will still win elections, said David Carney, a longtime Perry adviser.

"People don't vote for the person who signed them up," he said.

Strategists in both parties are assessing how different issues play with Hispanic voters, including abortion legislation, which limits the kind of public services poor women use, but also conforms with many Hispanics' Roman Catholic doctrine.

Inside the GOP, arguments are raging over whether the party is doing enough.

"There is a sensation that the Democrats are on the move in our state and we can't be behind the curve," said Carolyn Hodges, president of the Texas Federation of Republican Women.

Recently, the federation endorsed allowing the children of illegal immigrants obtain legal status. The state GOP is also counting on candidates like George P. Bush, the namesake of two former U.S. presidents who is running for state land commissioner, to project a friendly face to the Latino community. Bush's mother was born in Mexico.

But the numbers are ominous, said Mark McKinnon, top media consultant to President George W. Bush's presidential campaigns. Because Republicans haven't bonded as well with the Latino community, "Democrats will soon be within striking distance of turning the state blue again," he said.

-------------------------

Beaumont reported from Des Moines.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-dems-see-chance-become-relevant-again-135742512.html

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Money on the Mind: Psychologists at the University of California at Berkeley have found that ?upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals.? ~ PBS

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: stopmakingsense.org --- Sunday, July 14, 2013
Filed under: Big Banks , Corporations , Financial Crisis , Global Elite , Psychology ...

Source: http://stopmakingsense.org/2013/07/14/money-on-the-mind-psychologists-at-the-university-of-california-at-berkeley-have-found-that-upper-class-individuals-behave-more-unethically-than-lower-class-individuals-pbs/

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China island centenarians' secrets of long life

AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO

Elderly women chat at a tea house in Chengmai city, in China's southern Hainan province, on January 22, 2013.

The elderly residents of one Chinese county have endured invasion, civil war and famine, and many live in unheated concrete shacks on only a few dollars a day. But they are apparently among the longest-lived people on earth.

Chengmai, a string of villages dotted with orange plantations in the tropical island province of Hainan, claims more than 200 residents aged over 100 out of a population of 560,000?one of the highest ratios in the world.

They are said to include at least three "supercentenarians"?the name given to those aged over 110?out of fewer than 400 thought to exist worldwide.

Li Aizhu, whose government-issued residence permit says she was born in 1900, hobbles daily from her tiny concrete bedroom, where an electric fan beats back the intense heat, to watch quacking ducks waddle past her family farmhouse.

"Who are these people?" Li asked relatives when visitors arrived, a shock of white hair framing her wrinkled face.

She aimed the same question at government officials who arrived with a metal plaque declaring her to be a "longevity celebrity", her family said. It now hangs above a hard wooden bench in her simple living room, entitling her to a 500 yuan ($81) monthly payment, and free medical treatment.

RELATED: WORLD'S OLDEST PERSON TURNS 116

Other clusters of longevity are said to include Cuba, islands off Greece and Japan, and a peninsula in Costa Rica, with researchers finding common characteristics including an emphasis on family, lifestyles requiring physical activity, and a plant-based diet.

As China was swept by dramatic changes?from Japanese invasion, to the Communist victory in the civil war, and a transition from a planned economy to the market?most Chengmai residents carried on doing what they had always done, growing crops.

"I've never done any exercise, except hard farmwork," said 86 year-old Wang Kailu, who lives in a simple concrete shack with his wife Wu Aihe. The couple said they married the day after Japan's World War Two surrender, 68 years ago.

Their one-story dwelling is barely furnished and Wang draws water from a well to spread on his small vegetable plot.

Experts on aging who have travelled to the area say several factors could be involved in the phenomenon.

Jennifer Holdaway, who runs the China Environment and Health Initiative of the US-based Social Science Research Council and visited Chengmai for a government-funded conference last year, pointed out that its economy was centred around agriculture.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nydnrss/news/world/~3/7xdxIKd5oJQ/story01.htm

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India: Maoists Reverses In Maharashtra ? Analysis

Maharashtra in India

By SATP

July 15, 2013

By Fakir Mohan Pradhan

The uncertain gains that Maharashtra had secured in its campaigns against the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) through 2012 appear to have been further consolidated in the first half of 2013.

On July 7, 2013, Maharashtra Police?s C-60 Commandos, along with a section of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), shot dead six woman CPI-Maoist cadres, in an encounter near Mandri village in the Etapalli Division of Gadchiroli District. All the Maoists were in uniform. Police feel that the Maoists may have suffered a greater loss, but managed to drag bodies of some of their comrades into the jungles. A carbine, a .303 rifle, five 12-bore guns, 13 hand grenades and 20 rucksacks were recovered from the encounter site. Sources indicated that the Maoists were preparing for a meeting at Sawari village in the vicinity when their plans were leaked to the Police. The success of Security Forces (SFs) was reportedly engineered under difficult conditions, with odds stacked against them, as they had to cross a full flowing river and negotiate thick vegetation. The commandos also crawl some distance in the slush to avoid being spotted.

Since the beginning of 2013, Gadchiroli District in Maharashtra has witnessed several successful counter-insurgency operations, prominently including:

April 12: Four CPI-Maoist cadres and one C-60 Commando were killed in an encounter, in the forests near Sindesur village, Dhanora tehsil (revenue unit), Gadchiroli District. Two villagers were also killed in the crossfire. Several other Maoists were injured in the firing. Bodies of three women and one male rebel were recovered. The slain Maoists belonged to the Dhanora Local Organizational Squad (LOS) and Platoon 15. One SLR and a Bharmar (country made muzzle loading) rifle were also recovered from the encounter site. A month later, on May 12, SFs stumbled on the decomposed body of a woman inside the forest near the Sindesur village. One .303 rifle with 33 rounds, two backpacks and a pair of shoes were also found near the body. Police believe that the body may be of a Maoist killed in the April 12 encounter.

April 4: Seven Maoist cadres were killed in an encounter with Police near Bhatpar village in the Bhamragad Division of Gadchiroli. Police managed to recover five bodies. Police also recovered eight weapons, including one .303 gun, and seven Bharmars.

January 20: Six Maoists, including some senior cadres, were killed by SFs during an encounter near Jimulgatta, in Aheri tehsil of Gadchiroli District. The deceased Maoists included the ?secretary? of the CPI-Maoist Aheri Area Committee, Shankar aka Munneshwar Jaktu Lakada; Aheri dalam (armed squad) commander, Vinod aka Chandrayya Kodape; and ?deputy commander? of the Aheri dalam, Mohan Kowase.

Moreover, as a result of the growing strength of their intelligence network, the Gadchiroli Police were able to successfully execute a counter-ambush against a group of 50 to 60 Maoists, who were waiting to ambush Police search parties in Hetalkasa Forest under the Malewada Police Station in Gadchiroli on May 19. After the encounter, Police recovered the body of a Maoist and a small cache of arms and ammunition.

Common to these significant operational successes against the Maoists is the fact that the rebels were taken by complete surprise, a crucial departure from the experience of the past in Gadchiroli as well as most other theatres of Maoist violence. This point is driven further home by the fact that, in these operations, the Maoists did not even have the time and opportunity for orderly withdrawals, as evidenced by the high number of bodies recovered. Maoists generally do not leave behind the bodies of their fallen comrades. Moreover, SF casualties in these operations have been minimal, in sharp contrast to the ratio of fatalities in 2012.

Fatalities in Left-Wing Extremist Violence in Maharashtra: 2005-2013

Years	Incidents	Civilians	SF personnel	LWE	Total
2005	94	29	24	3	56
2006	98	39	3	19	61
2007	94	22	3	5	30
2008	68	17	5	9	31
2009	154	41	52	4	97
2010	94	35	10	3	48
2011	109	44	10	3	57
2012	134	27	14	4	45
2013*	-	8	3	26**	37

Source: 2005-2012 Ministry of Home Affairs 2013: SATP, *Data till July 12, 2013

** 23 bodies recovered in five encounters, in one case the claim was seven but five bodies were recovered and another killing was reported by Adilabad (Andhra Pradesh) Police, perhaps in an encounter with AP Police in Gadchiroli].

Maharashtra Police has lost three personnel to Maoist violence in 2013, with just one of these killed during an encounter. A second Policeman was killed while he was returning from a hospital with his wife and two children, and the third Police victim was a Police patil who was accompanying the Llyod?s Vice President and a subcontractor who were killed near Nender village in Etapalli tehsil in Gadchiroli on June 13. The Maoists carried out the last killing purportedly to protest against the attempt to start mining in Surajagad and Damkodvadavi Hills in the Gatta area despite ?popular sentiment? against mining in the area.

Out of the eight civilians killed in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-related violence, two were killed in crossfire during an encounter and another two, by Maoists over the mining issue. Three persons were killed by the Maoists as suspected Police informers; one of the three was reported to be ?mentally deranged?. The eighth man, a shopkeeper, was killed by Maoists in Gondia District over some payment disputes with tribals.

All the incidents of killing in Maharashtra in 2013 have been reported from Gadchiroli District, with the exception of one civilian killing in Gondia District.

Fatality data alone makes it amply clear that the balance is gradually tilting in favour of the SFs in Maharashtra in 2013. Even, in the second-half of 2012, though the number of encounters with Maoists increased, the Maoists had failed to inflict any fatalities on the SFs.

Media reports in February 2013 cited a senior officer of the Aheri Police in Gadchiroli, stating that the Maoists used to deploy around 75 to 80 persons in their ?company? formations in the District. This strength has come down to around 55 to 60 at present. The officer was relying on interrogations of several Maoists in custody. Similarly, the platoon formations have also lost considerable manpower, with average strength declining from 25 to 30 members to 12 to 16 cadres, and even less in some cases. The dalam?s earlier strength was around 15, but it has come down to around 8-12.

The pressure on the Maoists is also visible in other patterns of Maoist violence. Just one incident of abduction (of three persons) and three incident of arson, have, thus far, been recorded in the State, all in Gadchiroli District, in 2013. On the other hand, at least four Maoists have been arrested and another 28 have surrendered in the District. Maoists belonging to different dalams in Gadchiroli and border areas of Chhattisgarh have surrendered before Gadchiroli Police as a result the ?Campaign Navjeevan? [Campaign New Life] initiative, under which senior Police officials visited the families of Maoist cadres and appealed to them to surrender, assuring them of fair treatment. The campaign was quietly launched in December 2012. It is significant that, in the past, surrendering Maoists generally preferred neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which offers a better ?surrender package?.

Explaining the turnaround, Maharashtra Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) (Special Operations), Prem Kisan Jain, told media, ?We have reorganised the setup within the Department, in which all anti-Naxal operations, including intelligence, training and action, have been brought under one chain of command.? Further, Jain claimed that increasing the duration of the stay of the forces in the forests to 3 to 5 days, instead of short durations, had helped them immensely in disrupting Maoist logistics: ?we have not only managed to confine Maoists in their areas, but have also been able to penetrate into hitherto impregnable areas, which has put them on the defensive.? Coordination among the State Police Force, the special force (C-60) and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), had also improved dramatically. Advanced training centres, manned by Army personnel, were set up and more specialised equipment has been provided to the counter-insurgency (CI) troops. The ?economical use of ammunition? has also helped the Police, with better firing skills and restraint in the use of ammunition during encounters. In the past, panicked and indiscriminate firing by SFs had often resulted in units running out of ammunition during an ambush or encounter.

In addition to operational improvement, there has been a visible transformation in the capacities and processes of intelligence gathering. While surrendered Maoists have provided crucial operational information, Police appear to have infiltrated Maoist ranks in Gadchiroli.

On a downside, an Assistant Sub-Inspector, Omprakash Singh Thakur, who was in charge of the Jungle Tactics and Survival Course, was arrested on July 4, 2013, after an investigating team found out that he had pilfered arms and ammunitions that were found in a well behind the Gadchiroli Police Headquarters. The Police are now investigating if the pilfered weapons were meant for the Maoists. Further, Gadchiroli Police have registered cases against Prime Minister?s Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF) Mahesh Raut and his friend Harshali Potdar from Mumbai after two arrested Maoists revealed that the pair were travelling with them to meet top Maoist leaders.

As things appear to change in Maharashtra, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is mulling a tactical shift in anti-Maoist operations, with greater emphasis on intensive intelligence gathering leading to the setting up village-level database at Police Stations in all affected Districts in the country. The proposed changes are reportedly to come up for discussion at a meeting called by the MHA in July-end. The meeting is to bring together Superintendents of Police of the 26 worst-affected Districts across seven States and officers of the CAPFs. The District Police Chiefs would be urged to take the initiative to collect information about each village, its residents, amenities and infrastructure available. The Andhra Pradesh Police had benefitted immensely from such village-level data bases in its effort to develop an effective intelligence network at the grassroots and to plan effective operations against the Maoists. The MHA, keen to go beyond the ?Greyhounds? model that it has been harping on for the past several years, and to replicate more nuanced elements of the success in Andhra Pradesh, now wants to ?go back to basics and revitalize Police Stations?.

Despite dramatic improvements in Gadchiroli, there is little scope for complacency. After killing 14 Maoists in 2006, the Police had claimed, in 2007, that the Maoist movement in most affected Gadchiroli and Gondia districts had ?weakened? with some of the dalams operating in the area virtually winding up due to a cadre crunch and no fresh recruitment. But the Maoists came back even stronger in subsequent years. The Maoist capacity for revival has been repeatedly underestimated in the past, and far greater consolidation is necessary before the present gains can be thought to be irreversible.

Fakir Mohan Pradhan
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/15072013-india-maoists-reverses-in-maharashtra-analysis/

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Asiana Airlines considering legal action against TV station, NTSB ...

Posted on: 9:47 am, July 14, 2013, by CNN Wire, updated on: 09:48am, July 14, 2013

Asiana Airlines is considering legal action against Oakland?s KTVU television and the National Transportation Safety Board.

This, after a summer intern at the NTSB mistakenly confirmed ?inaccurate and offensive? names as those of the four pilots of Flight 214 that crashed last week in San Francisco.

The bogus names that phonetically spelled out phrases such as ?Something Wrong? and ?We Too Low? were read during KTVU?s noon broadcast Friday.

?Regarding the KTVU-TV?s demeaning report of the pilots on July 12, ASIANA Airlines is reviewing possible legal action against KTVU-TV and the NTSB,? the airline said in a statement.

?The reputation of the four pilots and of the company had been seriously damaged by this report. The company is reviewing taking legal action against both KTVU-TV and the NTSB.?

Both KTVU and the NTSB have apologized for the embarrassment.

?Nothing is more important to us than having the highest level of accuracy and integrity, and we are reviewing our procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again,? KTVU posted on its website.

It was not immediately clear who produced the fake names, but the NTSB said it was not the intern.

Asiana Airlines identified the pilot flying the Boeing 777 that crashed at San Francisco International Airport as Lee Kang-Kuk.

Asiana Flight 214 was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members when it crash landed Saturday on the runway after striking a seawall.

Three passengers died, including a girl who died of her injuries Friday morning. More than 180 others were injured.

Source: http://myfox8.com/2013/07/14/asiana-airlines-considering-legal-action-against-tv-station-ntsb/

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Jay-Z Talks Rihanna?s Behavior & His Relationship with President Obama

Photo Credit: Hot 97/YouTube

By: Taren Vaughan

Jay-Z comments on Rihanna and her behavior in interview? Jay-Z and Rihanna have a good relationship as Jay is the one who helped the pop star make a name for herself in the music industry. And though Rihanna has been able to sell out lipstick within hours, draw in large crowds for shows and land on the cover of magazines, Rih?s antics have a tendency to cloud the positive things she has done. Rihanna has been called out on several occasions for showing up late to concerts and being a little too free on her Instagram account. And like everyone else, Jay-Z is aware of what has gone on with Rihanna, but says all he can do is offer her some words of wisdom.

During his interview with Angie Martinez of Hot 97, Jay-Z spoke on Rihanna and the choices she has been making when it comes to her career and personal life. And Jay says he doesn?t have any control over what Rihanna does and that the only thing he can do at this point is give her advice:

?That?s not my place . . . I can?t control the outcome of her life. I can?t intervene, I can give advice when asked and that?s it. I can provide information and then life has to play out, life has to happen.?

Jay also talked about his relationship with President Obama and his daughter?s traveling experiences.

On his relationship with President Obama and how they communicate with each other:

?I?ve spoken to him on the phone and had texts from Obama. Of course, he?s a regular guy as well. He?s very heavy into sports so a lot of his analogies end up in sports.

?I don?t know if this is breaching national security but when he was getting elected the second time, he was like, ?Hey, you know, off-courter, just give me the ball.? I said, ?Word.??

On his daughter Blue Ivy Carter and how she handles traveling:

?She?s well-traveled, her passport is insane. She travels well too, she doesn?t get like fidgety, she?s very cool. It?s what she knows.?

Peep the clip from Jay-Z?s interview with Angie Martinez below:

Source: http://urbanbellemag.com/2013/07/jay-z-comments-on-rihanna-in-interview.html

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Pink Up: Eating to prevent breast cancer

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS)- Next time you walk into a grocery store, know the foods you put in your basket could reduce your risk of breast cancer.

A study published in the British Medical Journal said consuming fish oil can significantly lower a person?s risk of developing breast cancer by 14 percent.

"Everyone knew it's beneficial, but no one had actually documented it, so now we have data to say you know it's good for you," said Dr. Olivia Aranha, a breast cancer specialist at Saint Francis Medical Center.

But when you?re walking through the store, what are you looking to pick up?

"Typically the American diet is lacking in Omega 3s,? said Candice O?Hare, a registered dietitian at Saint Francis Medical Center.

O?Hare said one of the best sources of the Omega 3 fatty acids is fish oil. Experts said can take a supplement of about a gram a day.

"Salmon is a great source of omega 3s," said

O?Hare said you can also get the acids from oily fish like salmon, tuna, trout, or sardines; fresh, frozen, or canned. Research suggests having one to two servings per week.

"I think we're intimidated by fish. We are a society that knows a lot about poultry and beef and what foods go well with those, but fish is sometimes overwhelming and I think it's really just about looking at your diet and what can you do," said O?Hare.

O?Hare said plant sources are great like walnuts or flax seed, even oils.

"A natural form of omega 3s is going to be your canola oils, as well as your flaxseed oils, or soybean oils," said O?Hare.

And a last resort, you can get the benefits from products enhanced with Omega 3s.

"You wouldn't want to base your Omega intake off of something that's enhanced with it," said O?Hare.

Aranha said the oils prevent estrogen in the body, reducing cancer cell growth.

So next time you fix a plate, you might want to think twice, and choose the fish.

"It really is all about prevention and like I said if we could do something and bring in food components that help our health overall, it's like let?s do it," said O?Hare.

"The take home message from this study is if you're not already doing it, go ahead and start taking a fish oil supplement, a gram a day wouldn't hurt, it would have more than one benefit," said Aranha.

If you?re looking for a way to add fish into your diet, here are a few recipes.

Rainbow Salmon

Ingredients:

• heavy-duty aluminum foil
• 1 medium yellow summer squash
• 1 medium zucchini
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup drained Schnucks salad olives
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Schnucks extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 pounds fresh salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475?F. Tear two sheets (each about 18 inches long) of foil. Place one foil sheet on large cookie sheet for easier handling.

2. Trim ends from squash and zucchini. With vegetable peeler, peel squash and zucchini lengthwise into long thin ribbons until seeds appear. Transfer ribbons to center of foil sheet; top with tomatoes, olives, parsley, oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place salmon pieces, skin side down, over squash mixture. Sprinkle lemon peel and remaining ? teaspoon salt over salmon.

3. Place second foil sheet over salmon; fold edges of foil together several times to seal. Bake 20 minutes or until salmon is almost opaque throughout and reaches an internal temperature of 145?F.

4. Cut an X in top of foil packet to let steam escape, then carefully pull back foil to open. Slide vegetable mixture with its juices and salmon onto warm serving platter to serve.

Each Serving: Each Serving: about 350 calories, 21 g total fat (3 g saturated), 90 mg cholesterol, 410 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 34 g protein

Thai Salmon

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 pounds salmon fillet, cut crosswise into 4 pieces
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 1 lime
• 1 large shallot, very thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 tablespoons sesame seed oil
• 2 tablespoons Culinaria Asian spice rub
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste?

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450?F. For easier clean-up, line large rimmed baking pan with foil. Place salmon, skin side down, and spread asparagus in pan.

2. From lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice into small bowl. Stir in shallot, oil, spice rub, ginger and curry paste. With silicone brush, spread mixture over asparagus and on top of salmon.

3. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until salmon internal temperature reaches 145?F and asparagus is browned and tender-crisp.

Each Serving: Each serving: about 390 calories, 27 g total fat (4.5 g saturated), 80 mg cholesterol, 125 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 31 g protein.

You can check out more at schnuckscooks.com.

Copyright 2013?KFVS. All rights reserved.

Source: http://capegirardeau.kfvs12.com/news/news/88573-pink-eating-prevent-breast-cancer

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Repair Your Credit Now With These Easy Tips | III FBUK

When you have poor credit, it can be hard to find good information about credit repair. Here are some tips to rebuild your credit. Prevent credit-related stress by following the simple tips outlined here.

Getting home finance can be quite tough when your credit rating is not good. In this situation, it is a good idea to try to obtain an FHA loan, because these loans are guaranteed by the federal government. FHA loans can even work when someone lacks the funds for down payment or closing costs.

Make sure that you are never using more than 50% of your credit card?s limit. When your debt is over 50%, credit ratings usually go down. With that said, try to spread out the debt that you have or try paying it off.

! A secured credit card might be a good option for the person with a poor credit score. Most likely, a secured credit card will be easy for you to get, but you have to fund the credit account before you purchase so the bank knows that you won?t miss any payments.

You will be able to buy a house and finance it if you maintain a good credit rating. One way to help improve your credit is to pay your monthly mortgage payments on time. The more equity you have in your home, the more stability the banks see in you. This will be very helpful if the time comes where you need to take out a loan.

If you don?t want to pay too much at a time, you can avoid paying higher interest rates than you started with. There are laws that protect you from creditors that charge exorbitant interest rates. Although, in reality, you did agree in advance to pay any interest charges incurred. If you decide to sue your creditors, you should be able to have the interest rates recognized as too high.

! Keep your credit card balances below 50 percent of your credit limit. Once your balance reaches 50%, your rating starts to really dip.

Put the spending brakes on yourself by lowering your credit limit on all of your cards. This will keep you living within your budget, and will show the credit companies that you repay debts. This will allow you to get credit easier in the future.

If you are trying to repair your credit, check all of your negative reports very carefully. Even if the negative report is true, if you can locate an error in the report, it may be possible to get it removed.

Sign up with a credit union if you need to get a new credit line and are having a hard time. You may find that the credit union has more options and better rates to offer you than banks will.

! It?s easy to lower your interest rate by ensuring your credit score is high. Lower interest rates make it much easier and quicker to pay off balances.

Hopefully, this information has helped you out. While fixing your credit might seem like an uphill battle, once you follow this advice, you will have the chance to regain your credit. Just remember that repairing your credit takes time. As long as you stay determined, you?ll see how valuable the rewards can be.

Source: http://iiibfbuk.org/repair-your-credit-now-with-these-easy-tips/

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Reuters: U.S. weighs arming Syria rebels

By Arshad Mohammed, Matt Spetalnick and Dan Williams, Reuters

The United States could make a decision as early as this week on whether to arm Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said on Monday, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry put off a Middle East trip to attend meetings on the subject.

However, the U.S. government has debated for months whether to provide weaponry to the rebels in their civil war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and has so far decided against.

One U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity stressed that while a decision on whether to start arming the rebels is possible as soon as this week, deliberations on the issue could easily take longer.

/

A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.

Kerry put off a planned trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories to attend the White House meetings, an Obama administration source said.

What has changed in recent weeks is the tilting of the battlefield against the rebels as Lebanese Hezbollah has entered the fray on the side of Assad's forces, helping them to retake the strategic town of Qusair. .

That shift has made it less likely that a U.S. and Russian planned peace conference to bring the rebels and the government to the table would succeed in U.S. President Barack Obama's aim of a negotiated political transition to remove Assad from power.

Meanwhile, Israel's intelligence minister repeated a warning that Assad could prevail in the civil war because of backing from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Yuval Steinitz, minister for international affairs, strategy and intelligence, was asked at a briefing with foreign journalists Monday whether recent successes by Assad's forces against outgunned rebels might herald victory for the Syrian leader.

"I always thought that it might be the case that at the end of the day Assad, with a very strong Iranian and Hezbollah backing, might gain the upper hand," Steinitz said. "And I think that this is possible and I thought that this is possible already a long time ago."

Steinitz, who is not a member of Israel's security cabinet but does have access to intelligence updates as well as Netanyahu's ear, said Assad's government "might not just survive but even regain territories" from the rebels.

?

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2e934d22/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C10A0C188834270Ereuters0Eus0Eweighs0Earming0Esyria0Erebels0Dlite/story01.htm

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Camera review: Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone

Connect smartphone reviews are written with the needs of?photographers in mind. We?focus on camera features, performance and image quality.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the successor to the hugely successful Galaxy S3 and as such the latest model in the Korean manufacturer's Galaxy S line of flagship smartphones. The Galaxy S3 did well in our review from October 2012?and was one of the first Android-powered smartphones that could establish itself as a valid rival to Apple's iPhone both in terms of sales figures and consumer appeal.

So expectations were high among industry insiders and consumers alike when the S4 was launched in April and Samsung did not disappoint. The Galaxy S4's design is very similar to its predecessor but under the hood the new model comes with the latest hardware and software technologies.

Like many high-end devices this year, the S4's camera features a 13MP backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and a 1080p 5-inch screen. Depending on region, the phone is powered by a 1.9 GHz Qualcomm quad-core chip and the latest Android version 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. From a mobile photographer's point of view, the most interesting novelties can be found within the camera app.

The S4 comes with a number of new imaging features and modes that demonstrate that, in some situations, smartphones can be better imaging tools than traditional compact cameras. Dual-Shot allows for image-in-image effects by capturing still images and video with the front and rear cameras at the same time. Drama mode creates composite action images and Eraser mode deletes unwanted subjects from the frame. Of course all the usual software assistants such as Samsung's Beauty Face mode, HDR and Panorama are still on board, too. The latter now captures impressively large panoramas pictures that are approximately 22,000 pixels wide, a massive improvement from the S3's 6,000 pixel width.

We had a close look at all the new imaging features, the S4's image quality and the camera operation on the following pages. Read on to find out how the latest Samsung flagship smartphone did in our tests.

Key Photographic / Video Specifications

• 13-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor
• F2.2 lens
• 31mm equivalent focal length
• ISO 50-1000 (100-800 manually selectable)
• Image aspect ratio 4:3
• 2-megapixel front camera
• LED flash
• 1080p 30fps video recording
• Dual-image capture?
• Various filter and special modes
• Digital image stabilization
• 4x digital zoom

Other Specifications

• 1.9 GHz Quad-Core Processor / 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor (depending on region)
• Android 4.2.2
• 5-inch 1080p (441ppi) Super-Amoled screen
• 7.9mm thin
• 2GB RAM
• 16/32/64 GB storage versions, Micro-SD card support up to 64 GB
• 130g4G LTE 100Mbs down, 50Mps up
• Barometer, temperature and humidity sensors
• IR-transmitter
• 2600MAh battery, removable

Our 11-page review

We've considered every aspect of the Samsung Galaxy S4, with the photographer in mind. We examined the user interface of the native camera app and its special features. We experimented with the camera's performance when taking stills and video, and had a play with the device's many special feature modes. Click any of the links below for more information of specific functions and continue to our conclusion for a final summary of our findings.

Source: http://connect.dpreview.com/post/0586582857/samsung-galaxy-s4-camera-review

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Pentagon's paymasters hound a master sergeant

(This story is refiled to correct the photo caption to read master sergeant from staff sergeant)

By Kelly Carr and Scot J. Paltrow

(Reuters) - Four months after 25-year Air Force veteran George Koffler retired, the Defense Department demanded that he give back $4,034.67 in pay it said he hadn't deserved.

In the more than two years since, the former master sergeant has vainly sought an answer to a simple question: Why?

Even as Koffler repeatedly asked the Defense Finance and Accounting Services, or DFAS, for an explanation, the Pentagon's payroll agency arranged to garnish his pay from his new civilian job and report the alleged debt to credit agencies. The unpaid balance was eventually turned over to a private collection agency.

Koffler is among the many retired or discharged military personnel who Reuters found are suddenly dunned by DFAS for money they never owed, or for overpayments they erroneously, and unknowingly, received. And as his case illustrates, many of them struggle to get an explanation for the claimed debt.

Koffler's ordeal began in February 2011, when he opened his mail to find the DFAS debt notice. "It was kind of like a slap in the face," he says.

The notice said the debt was for most of the "special duty assignment pay" he had earned for his last five years as an Air Force first sergeant. But there was no reason given why he, in particular, didn't deserve that pay.

Koffler, who served in Bosnia, the first Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as on humanitarian missions, had risen over the years to become a master sergeant, one of the top ranks of Air Force enlisted personnel. In 2005, he graduated from the Air Force's First Sergeant Academy.

In the Air Force, first sergeant is a specialized job open to high-ranking sergeants. Under federal law, Air Force first sergeants, during the period Koffler served, were to receive an additional $150 a month in "special duty assignment pay" to cover the job's extra workload. The duties include serving as top adviser to a commander and overseeing mission readiness and the health and well-being of airmen.

Koffler could think of nothing that would disqualify him for his first-sergeant's pay. He first called the DFAS office in St. Louis, Missouri, to ask for an explanation. The agency mailed him a multipage packet filled with accounting codes he couldn't decipher.

He next phoned pay officials at Randolph Air Force Base, outside San Antonio, Texas, and the closest base to his home in Spring, Texas. Personnel there told him to call DFAS headquarters in Indianapolis, where staff told him to call the DFAS office in St. Louis.

A frustrated Koffler then wrote a detailed letter to DFAS to dispute the debt. Koffler says he never received any response.

The 48-year-old Koffler works at a high school as an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor. For seven months, DFAS garnished his pay, taking more than $300 every two weeks, or about 15 per cent of his salary.

When Koffler and his wife were arranging to buy living-room furniture in early 2011, the salesman withdrew an offer of $1,500 in financing. The DFAS debt, it turned out, had sharply lowered Koffler's credit rating.

"You kind of feel like they left you out to dry," Koffler says.

DFAS declined to make anyone available to discuss Koffler's case, and it did not respond to questions about whether it investigated Koffler's complaints.

During his years as a first sergeant, Koffler received more than $8,000 in special-duty pay - roughly double the amount it billed him. In a written response to questions, DFAS said that with the aim of recouping the full amount from Koffler, it had already collected $4,130 through withholdings from his last two paychecks.

Koffler says he recalls no such deductions, and a Reuters examination of his monthly pay statements turned up none for the alleged debt before his retirement.

In response to a Privacy Act waiver Koffler signed, DFAS turned over documents stating that the Air Force had asked DFAS to collect the money because "the servicemember was not eligible for the special duty pay." But the documents don't say why he was deemed ineligible.

DFAS referred Reuters to the Air Force's Personnel Center, where spokesman Michael Dickerson said DFAS should have the answer. Dickerson confirmed that Koffler was a first sergeant for the five years before he retired. He said the personnel center has no responsibility for special-duty pay. He suggested that Reuters contact units Koffler served in.

Two commanders Koffler served under during his last five years in the Air Force said he had earned his special-duty pay as a first sergeant. One of them, Lieutenant Colonel William Salinger, said Koffler's performance was "absolutely spectacular."

Reuters then went to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. His spokeswoman, Ann Stefanek, said that she checked Koffler's pay records and that "there's a possibility there is an error." She declined to provide details. She said Donley's office would not look into whether the Air Force and DFAS had erred in claiming the money back.

Stefanek declined to say whether the Air Force has any records explaining the debt, or why Donley's office would not investigate. She suggested that Koffler begin a new appeals process if he wants to contest the debt. Beyond that, she said in an email, "I don't have any additional information to provide at this time."

(Edited by John Blanton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagons-paymasters-hound-master-sergeant-140653971.html

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Inside sources tell Team 10 Investigates Mayor Bob Filner's France trip cost $22...

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Judge rules Apple violated antitrust law in eBook price-fixing case

Apple eBook Antitrust Ruling

A judge has found that Apple violated federal antitrust laws in an eBooks price fixing case where the company was accused of leading a conspiracy to keep the prices of eBooks artificially high, Reuters reports.

[More from BGR: iOS 7 beta 3: Full change log released]

Developing?

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-rules-apple-violated-antitrust-law-ebook-price-131639146.html

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Google Play highlights photography with free eBook, notable apps

Free eBook and eight great apps to get new 'shutter bugs' started with photography

As it regularly does, Google Play is highlighting a specific subject with a content promotion and this time the focus is on photography. This week's focus is kicking off with a free eBook from the Play Store -- "Android Photography" by Colby Brown is a 104 page book focusing (pun, I know) on the basics of controlling your phone's camera, which settings to use and how to shoot in different situations.

The book also gives tips on which third-party apps to use to help your photography skills, and Google Play is helping out by offering a full list of popular apps for "shutter bugs". Popular apps like 500px and Camera Zoom FX make it into this list of 8 apps focused on viewing and taking photos.

When you go to "purchase" the book from the Play Store at the link above, don't be alarmed if you're asked to enter your Google Wallet information or get GW set up, it's a necessary process for having the book linked to your account. Happy shooting!

More: 'App Focus: Photography' | 'Android Photography' by Colby Brown

Android Central Photography Forums

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/kX7FiMbdTD0/story01.htm

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Google Doodle honors Roswell with point-and-click game

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Google has turned the Roswell UFO incident into a point-and-click adventure.
Head over to Google.com and check out their latest 'doodle" honoring the 66th anniversary of the reported UFO sighting in New Mexico.
The black-and-white game starts with an alien crashing atop a hill, and must search for the parts of his spaceship to fly back home. Players use the mouse to point and click in the direction they want the alien to walk or pick up items.
On this day in 1947,mobi to pdf a mysterious object crashed on a ranch in Roswell, New Mexico. The crash is tied to a weather balloon, but the most popular theory is the object was a ship carrying alien life.

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Source: http://www.daniweb.com/community-center/threads/458734/google-doodle-honors-roswell-with-point-and-click-game

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Mercer Island 9/10 Little League team wins District 9 title | Sports brief

Contributed photo

The Mercer Island 9/10 Little League all-star team won the District 9 tournament.

By MEGAN MANAGAN
Mercer Island Reporter Reporter
July 8, 2013 ? 12:47 PM

The Mercer Island 9/10 Little League all star baseball team recently won the District 9 title.

The team will move forward to compete in the state tournament, which begins July 13 in Oak Harbor.

The tema includes: Alex Arron, Nathan Buchan, Tyler Butson, Evan Dickstein, Caiden Fukano, Wesley Ho, Michael Lee, Will MacCormack, Max Malakoff, Jack Mattox, Paul Noone, Rory Shanks and Tripp White.

The team is managed by Peter Noone and coached by Mike Dickstein and Andy Shanks.

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Reporter Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/mirsports/~3/ipKzh9hxULg/214647471.html

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Oil Mason Jar Candles

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Source: http://doitandhow.com/2013/07/10/oil-mason-jar-candles/

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Spotify for Windows Phone 8 Sheds Beta Tags in 'Big' Update

Spotify today cut the beta tags off of its Windows Phone 8 application, launching a "big" update for all users.

According to a Sunday tweet from Microsoft's Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore, the app, now free of its beta shackles, includes more languages, offline playlist improvements, and track scrubbing.

The update also increases the overall speed and quality of the app, Spotify's user communications manager, Candice Katz, wrote in a short blog post.

Spotify landed on Windows Phone 8 in February. Previously available for Windows Phone 7 users, the application disappeared with the updated Windows Phone 8. Spotify promised in November that the team was working on bringing the app to the updated OS and the beta version arrived several months later.

Most of the application's mobile services are available only to subscribers, but there is a free Internet radio option. Spotify Premium costs $9.99 per month, beginning with a 30-day free trial period.

The Spotify application is currently available for free in the Windows Phone Store.

These updates still aren't enough to keep some users satisfied. With an average rating of three out of five stars, Spotify for WP8 has received a number of less-than-stellar reviews from users, including Nicholas, who handed the app a one-star rating.

"So the update from beta STILL doesn't bring the radio feature to the app???" he wrote. "Come on!! This is essential!"

The iOS version, meanwhile, got a boost last week, with new features and various improvements, all wrapped in a new logo. Included in the update was the new Discover page, initially launched on the Web in late May.

Perhaps Spotify's expansion into other music-discovery sectors can help keep people from jumping ship. Ticketing website StubHub today announced a new in-app feature, allowing Spotify users to seamlessly discover upcoming local music events.

"This latest partnership with Spotify represents how StubHub is now thinking about innovation," Chris Zachos, senior product manager of StubHub's music discovery space, said in a statement. "More than selling tickets, we are focused on partnering with the most creative companies in the industry to give our users an even more seamless and interesting way to discover music and experience live events."

Listed among Spotify's App Finder content, StubHub will automatically display events within a 50-mile radius of each user's city, offering details about concerts and a link to buy tickets.

In-app services are available only via Spotify's desktop client; the StubHub app is not available via Spotify Web or mobile.

For more, see PCMag's review of Spotify and the slideshow above.

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavis.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/breakingnews/~3/_D4SLuDYaBY/0,2817,2421473,00.asp

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