Former US soldier accused of fighting with al Qaeda group in Syria

via YouTube

Video of US Army veteran Eric Harroun filming militants celebrating a crashed helicopter was cited in the FBI affadavit. This clip has not been edited or verified by NBC News.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

A former U.S. soldier has been charged with fighting with an al Qaeda group in Syria after allegedly posting photographs of himself posing with military hardware on the internet, officials said in a statement.

Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, Ariz., was accused of using a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, an alias of al Qaeda in Iraq, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the U.S. Attorney?s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia.

?Harroun, a U.S. citizen who served with the U. S. Army from 2000 to 2003, was charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to use a destructive device outside of the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, if convicted,? the statement said.

?According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Harroun allegedly crossed into Syria in January 2013 and fought with members of the al-Nusrah Front against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria,? it added. ?The affidavit alleges that Harroun was trained to use an RPG by members of the terrorist organization and that he fired an RPG and posted online multiple photographs of himself carrying or posing with RPGs and other military weapons.?

?Harroun allegedly participated in attacks led by the al-Nusrah Front and was part of an RPG team, for which he carried anti-personnel and anti-armor rockets,? it said.

600 terrorist attacks
Al Qaeda in Iraq has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization since October 2004.

?The al-Nusrah Front is one of several aliases used by the 'al Qa?ida in Iraq' terrorist organization, and since November 2011 the group has claimed responsibility for nearly 600 terrorist attacks in Syria,? the statement said.

U.S. officials have called for Assad to step down in Syria and have offered non-lethal support to the rebels, but there is concern about militant groups like al Qaeda affiliates fighting alongside other rebel forces.

Israel fears al Qaeda elements will establish themselves close to the border and threaten to fire chemical weapons and long-range rockets captured from the Syrian army into Israel.

The statement said Harroun appeared in a federal court in Alexandria, Va., Thursday.

Harroun was arrested on Wednesday upon returning to the United States at an airport outside Washington, Reuters said. He has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

He was medically discharged from the army after being injured in a car accident, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, Reuters reported.

The criminal charge of "conspiring to use a destructive device outside of the United States" carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Harroun appeared in two videos that indicated he was engaged in military action with rebel forces against the Syrian government, Reuters reported. In one video, he said: "Bashar al-Assad, your days are numbered. ... Where(ever) you go we will find you and kill you," according to the affidavit.

In March, the FBI conducted three voluntary interviews of Harroun at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, during which he stated that he wanted to fight with the Free Syrian Army against the Assad regime, the affidavit added.

Harroun allegedly told the FBI that during his fighting in Syria he shot about 10 people but did not know whether he killed any of them, the affidavit said, according to Reuters. He also said he hated al Qaeda and did not know any al Qaeda members, the affidavit said. On Wednesday in the United States, the FBI conducted another voluntary interview during which Harroun allegedly said that he knew the al-Nusrah Front had been designated a terrorist organization, according to the affidavit.

The U.S. Attorney's office said a lawyer would be appointed for Harroun, Reuters reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Blink-182 'Going Hard In The Paint' To Win Musical March Madness

The second round of MMM is winding down, but Blink-182 are just getting started.
By James Montgomery

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus
Photo: Chiaki Nozu/ WireImage

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704503/blink-182-musical-march-madness.jhtml

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North Korea to cut all channels with South as "war may break out any time"

SEOUL (Reuters) - Reclusive North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment", it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack.

The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to "hostile" military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea.

The North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. military that supervises the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Red Cross line that has been used by the governments of both sides.

"Under the situation where a war may break out at any moment, there is no need to keep north-south military communications which were laid between the militaries of both sides," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying.

"There do not exist any dialogue channel and communications means between the DPRK and the U.S. and between the north and the south."

The Pentagon condemned the latest escalation in North Korean rhetoric, with spokesman George Little calling Pyongyang's declaration "yet another provocative and unconstructive step."

The U.S. military announced on March 15 it was bolstering missile defenses in response to threats from the North, including a threat to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States.

Despite the shrill rhetoric, few believe North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will risk starting a full-out war.

North and South Korea are still technically at war anyway after their 1950-53 civil conflict ended with an armistice, not a treaty, which the North says it has since torn to pieces.

The "dialogue channel" is used on a daily basis to process South Koreans who work in the Kaesong industrial project where 123 South Korean firms employ more than 50,000 North Koreans to make household goods.

About 120 South Koreans are stationed at Kaesong at any one time on average.

It is the last remaining joint project in operation between the two Koreas after South Korea cut off most aid and trade in response to Pyongyang's shooting of a South Korean tourist and the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel blamed on the North.

Kaesong is one of North Korea's few hard currency earners, producing $2 billion a year in trade with the South, and Pyongyang is unlikely to close it except as a last resort.

South Korean conservative activists burn cutout pictures of North Korean national founder the late Kim Il Sung, right, and late leader Kim Jong Il during a rally to mark the third anniversary of the ... more? South Korean conservative activists burn cutout pictures of North Korean national founder the late Kim Il Sung, right, and late leader Kim Jong Il during a rally to mark the third anniversary of the sinking of South Korean naval ship "Cheonan" which killed 46 South Korean sailors, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 26, 2013. An explosion ripped apart the 1,200-ton warship, killing 46 sailors near the maritime border with North Korea in 2010. A banner reads: "Bomb at statue of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) less? The North's military spokesman representing its "supreme command" did not mention Kaesong, which has suffered temporary shutdowns before.

The South's government said it would take steps to ensure the safety of the workers at Kaesong. It did not elaborate.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; editing by Nick Macfie and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-cut-channels-south-war-may-break-090941398.html

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Ballpark to debut 'urinal gaming system' in Pa.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) ? Talk about streaming media: The Philadelphia Phillies' top minor league affiliate is set to debut what it calls a "urinal gaming system" at its ballpark in Allentown.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs tapped a British company to install the system in men's restrooms at Coca-Cola Park.

It consists of a video display mounted above each urinal. When a fan approaches, the video console will sense his presence and switch into gaming mode. The guy aims left or right to control the play on the screen.

The team said Tuesday that Coca-Cola Park will be the first sports venue in the world to feature the gaming system. It'll be ready by opening day next week.

IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes says he didn't want to flush away a golden opportunity to entertain fans. He says the games are "sure to make a huge splash."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ballpark-debut-urinal-gaming-system-pa-214737815.html

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Springpad note-taking service gets interface overhaul, now an even worthier rival to Evernote

Springpad may lack Evernote's commercial clout, but it makes up for it in a number of ways -- not least with free-of-charge features like offline access from its mobile apps (which certain rivals charge for) and Pinterest-style sharing options. The interface hasn't been a particular strong point, but that could be about to change as version 4.0 has just gone live for at least some users of the web interface. The new UI centers everything on three key buttons along the top:

• Springs -- which gives you immediate access to your latest notes, regardless of which device you made them on
• Notebooks -- for organizing your notes into projects
• Search & Do -- which, needless to say, lets you search your notes, but also suggests activities based to-do tasks you've created.

The same, simplified philosophy is due to hit Springpad's iOS and Android apps soon, although there's no sign of that happening just yet. In meantime, check out the web interface for yourself at the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile

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Kevin A. Hansen: 9 Secret Regrets Of Cheating Exes

Nothing rocks a marriage likes infidelity, and quite often the result is divorce. But once the truth comes out, do the cheating spouses regret the affair -- or just regret getting caught?

Many people whose secret regrets are featured in my bestselling Secret Regrets book series are truly sorry for betraying their spouses, and are ready to accept responsibility and learn from their mistakes. Others try to justify their actions and don't regre the affair -- they regret the way they handled the situation.

Here are nine secret regrets of cheating exes from my www.SecretRegrets.com online confessional and book series:

• "I regret looking at that email sent to you by another women that seemed like a sign that you were cheating, or even just exploring. I should have known better since you were in Iraq, fighting for our country. I regret going out that night with the thoughts of that email in my head and meeting him. I thought I knew it all back then, and with the conception of my daughter, I knew our marriage was over. Although I will never regret her, I regret that she was not a part of you and me. God only knows how much I truly loved you back then and continue to even today. Since we divorced, you remarried, divorced again and live happily. How I wish I could rewind time or even just have a second chance. I can only continue to be happy for you from a distance, and wish that maybe one day our young love will return and we can grow old together. I will love you always." -Female, age 23

• "I honestly don't regret cheating on you. But I regret how I did it. I regret rubbing it in your face and making it public at work. I regret disrespecting you the way I did and humiliating you with my brazen acts. I don't regret marrying you and I don't regret divorcing you. But I regret treating you like a dumbass who wouldn't know what I was doing." -Anonymous

• "I regret being with other women during my marriage to get even when my wife cheated on me. I never once thought of straying until I was cheated on. I was devastated. I had no one to talk to when it happened. I regret taking her back. Each time for the sake of our family. I thought being with another woman would make the hurt better of being cheated on, but it didn't. It made me feel worse. I never told her or anyone else for that matter. I regret letting myself stoop down to that level. We are divorced now. I know that I won't stray again, but I regret that I ever went down that road." -Male, age 37

• "I wish I hadn't left my husband for my co-worker. I left a sure thing. Nothing in this world is guaranteed, but my husband truly loved me and still loves me a year after I forced him to move out. I don't know how he tolerates me, but my husband is still my best friend. Now I'm stuck with another man who tries to make me feel small and ugly. He wants to bring another woman into our relationship. I feel compelled to stay because I have nothing else, and the relationship with my husband would NEVER be the same. I wish I could go back to before I lost both my career-building job and my stable, normal marriage to a good, kind man because of my affair. How did I ever allow myself to get into this situation?" -Female, age 34

• "I regret divorcing my children's father. He believes that I cheated on him while we were married. I did not have a sexual relationship with anyone while we were married, but I did have an emotional one with a man that cared about me. I went through mid-life crisis and wanted to have some fun that I wasn't having being married to him. I will always regret the divorce because I will always love him and I hated what it did to our children." -Anonymous

• "I regret meeting a cruel, vindictive, disgusting man 3 years ago. All he had to do was end our sexual fling. He didn't have to rat me out to my husband. He was so stupid to think I wouldn't know it was him. I also regret cheating on my husband but I didn't need some low life to play judge and jury when he knew I was married and he was no less wrong than I was. I did get my revenge by telling his girlfriend." -Anonymous

• "I don't regret cheating on you, it was my escape from your abuse. I regret you bad mouthing me to my entire family. I regret letting you make me think I was the cause of the divorce. I regret that you turned my only childhood friends against me. I regret that you manipulated us into having a child, and blaming it on the birth control when in fact you didn't take it. You said nobody would ever want to love me. But I found someone. She is more beautiful than you. She loves me. I guess there are a lot of things I regret. But not her. She loves me for me. So screw off, my Satanic ex-wife. I REGRET YOU!" -Anonymous

• "I regret cheating on you with women who didn't matter to me. I regret thinking I was in love with the last one, the one that made you throw me out. I didn't really love her, I just thought I wanted something different. Well, turns out I had what I wanted all along and now it's gone. I've hurt you and the kids more than anyone deserves to be hurt and I will regret that to the day I die. You loved me, truly loved me, and when you finally had enough you seemed to hate me, but I see now that it was just pain. I can't believe how much I hurt you and continued to hurt you while I chased that young girl. I will regret it always and I hope one day you find it in your heart to forgive me." -Anonymous

• "I regret having an affair with my ex girlfriend. Initially, I kept in touch with you because your son had died and your mother was also dying of cancer. It was about being a sounding board for you, but soon old feelings surfaced. I've been having trouble being intimate with my wife now and I never got you completely out of my head. You acknowledged you weren't forced, but I still blame myself for not having a better sense of boundaries. Now, I am soul searching to find out why I did it and (hopefully) be able to repair the damage I've inflicted on my crumbling marriage." -Male, age 39

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Follow Kevin A. Hansen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SECRETREGRETS

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-a-hansen/9-secret-regrets-of-cheat_b_2917341.html

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Conquering Public Speaking Anxiety Today | dan erickson

My new recording setup.

This is the first post in a weekly series about public speaking.? You all know me as a blogger, writer, and musician, but I make my living as a teacher.? I studied communication at Washington State University and I have an M.A. in communication with an emphasis in speech and rhetoric.? I?ve been teaching public speaking courses at the two-year college level for nearly?fifteen?years.

This is my first podcast. ?I tried to keep it simple. ?It?s not perfect and that?s part of my point. ?We don?t need to be perfect to succeed in public speaking. ?In the future, I hope to learn more of the technical aspects of podcasting: things like adding a picture and play button, adding bumper music, and working more closely with audio levels. ?I learned in this first podcast that my banjo needs to be set aside when I speak, because it creates a slight ring and the Yeti microphone picks it up. ?It wasn?t real bad, so I left it in this time, but like everything, I?ll learn and improve in time.

Listen to the Podcast:?Conquering Public Speaking Anxiety Today

Let?s get the hardest topic?out of the way first:?The fear of public speaking. ?A couple of weeks ago I posted a survey to see what some of your fears are when faced with giving a speech.? Your answers are very similar to what I hear in my classes each quarter when we broach this topic. ?The most common concern is making a mistake, followed by being the center of attention. ?I think I might have something that will help.

Years ago, when I first started teaching?public speaking courses, I found an article called How To Conquer Public Speaking Fear?by Morton C. Orman, M.D.? In all my research, and in all the textbooks I?ve used since, I still find Dr. Orman?s article to?be one of the best resources?concerning ways to deal with speech anxiety.? I believe Dr. Orman?s article is very effective, because he looks at the underlying causes of public speaking fear.? Many books and websites only offer simple fixes for relaxation?like breathing and visualization?exercises.? I don?t want to discount those methods, but I believe we need to understand the underlying causes of speech anxiety before we address effects and solutions.

In this post, I?ll include Dr. Orman?s 10 Key Principles, or listen to my podcast for a more in-depth discussion about these key principles.

1. ?Speaking in Public is NOT Inherently Stressful?

2.? You Don?t have to be Brilliant or Perfect to Succedd

3.? All you need is Two or Three Main Points

4.? You also Need a Purpose That is Right for the Task

5.? The?Best Way to Succeed is Not to consider Yourself a Public Speaker!

6.? Humility and Humor Can Go a Long Way

7.? When You Speak in Public, Nothing ?Bad? Can Ever Happen!

8.? You Don?t Have to Control the Behavior of Your Audience

9.? In General, the More You Prepare, the Worse You Will Do

10.? Your Audience Truly Wants You to Succeed

Questions:?Which of these principles rings the most true for you? ?What can you do to overcome your public speaking anxiety?

Source: http://danerickson.net/?p=7556

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Google Play starts offering devices in India, starting with the Nexus 7

Google Play Books recently launched for India; it's only fitting that locals get some hardware to read with. Accordingly, Google just opened device sales for India through Google Play, beginning with the Nexus 7. The initial offering is decidedly modest and includes just the 16GB WiFi version of the reference tablet, which costs 15,999 rupees ($294) and should deliver by April 5th. While that doesn't provide the selection that we know in some countries -- and the Nexus 7 definitely isn't one of the cheaper tablets Indians will have seen -- it's an important step toward creating a truly complete Google Play ecosystem in an influential country.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Tablets, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: Google Play

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/google-play-starts-offering-devices-in-india/

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DEAR SCALIA: YOLO (#scotusyolo) (talking-points-memo)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294750542?client_source=feed&format=rss

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T-Mobile's UnCarrier event roundup

The news (and the choice language) was hurled out at a rapid pace during today's T-Mobile UnCarrier event. In case you missed any of the proceedings, we've got you covered with a full rundown just past the break. From the initial LTE markets to handset launches and details surrounding Big Magenta's phone plans, all of the particulars on what the carrier looks to "unleash" are here for your perusal.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Campbell marks 10 years since troops? deaths

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2013/03/ap-campbell-soldiers-remember-colleagues-killed-10-years-ago-032513/

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 25, 2013 9:47:43 EDT

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. ? Command Sgt. Maj. Bart Womack remembers the chaos at his base in Kuwait. The grenade explosions and gunfire led him to believe Camp Pennsylvania was under attack.

Only later did Womack find out one of the U.S. Army?s own was responsible. Now Womack, of Columbus, Ohio, is memorializing the two soldiers killed in the March 23, 2010, assault by 41-year-old Hasan Akbar on his fellow United States troops.

The Kentucky New Era reported that Womack organized the ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the March 23, 2003, deaths of Army Capt. Christopher S. Seifert and Air Force Maj. Gregory L. Stone. Fourteen other soldiers were injured. Akbar is at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., after being convicted of the killings and sentenced to death.

Womack attended a ceremony Saturday at Fort Campbell before flying to Pennsylvania to lay a wreath on Seifert?s grave. A third ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., at Stone?s grave.

?How could a person that?s supposed to have your back, someone that you?re supposed to trust, someone who?s taken the oath that you?ve taken to support and defend do this to you?? Womack asked. ?I?m hesitant to use the ?S? word for him in terms of him being a soldier, because I don?t think anyone that?s a soldier through and through would do something like that,? Womack said of Akbar.

Akbar was stationed with the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), when he attacked his comrades.

As the command sergeant major of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at the time, Womack felt it was his responsibility to organize a memorial ceremony for his fallen comrades.

Womack said he organized the ceremonies in different parts of the country to allow as many people as possible the opportunity to pay their respects.

He said he didn?t spend much time with Stone, but he saw Seifert every day. Womack said Seifert was a dedicated soldier.

?You know, he took the ball and ran with it,? Womack said. ?Needed very little guidance, if any.?

Womack added that Seifert was never without a smile on his face.

After his death, Seifert?s friends from Moravian College started an annual golf outing in Seifert?s memory. Womack also started a PayPal account for people to donate to the memorial fund. The money will be used to pay for the wreaths, he said, and any excess money would be donated to the Maj. Gregory L. Stone Memorial Scholarship.

?We are here to have a really simple remembrance ceremony for our comrades,? Womack said. ?And we just want to let them know that they?re not forgotten 10 years later.?

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Asia stocks rise after Cyprus bailout set

BANGKOK (AP) ? A last-minute package of rescue loans that saves Cyprus from a banking collapse and bankruptcy helped push Asian stock markets higher Monday.

Finance ministers from the 17 countries that use the euro currency approved the 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout plan just hours before a deadline. The European Central Bank had threatened to cut crucial emergency assistance to the country's banks by Tuesday without an agreement.

In return for the bailout, Cyprus must drastically shrink its outsized banking sector, cut its budget, implement economic reforms and privatize state assets.

Cyprus must also raise 5.8 billion euros of its own. To do so, the country's second-largest bank, Laiki, will be restructured and bond holders and holders of bank deposits of more than 100,000 euros will have to take significant losses, European Union officials said. Deposits with all Cypriot banks of up to 100,000 euros will be guaranteed by the state in accordance with the EU's deposit insurance guarantee.

Depending on the deal's details, "the outcome will mean that the risks of Cyprus defaulting and leaving the euro zone will have significantly diminished," said analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong in a market commentary.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.9 percent to 12,567.07. Australia's S&P 500 added 0.5 percent to 4,993.20. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.4 percent to 1,975.33. Stocks in mainland China fell.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 22,272.68, although trading volume was somewhat thin. Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong, said the market was being cautious ahead of the release of earnings from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China this week.

"Chinese banking players will report, so the market is maybe taking a wait-and-see attitude," Yip said.

Banking shares in other markets posted strong gains, evidence of relief amid the financial sector for the Cyprus bailout.

South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group jumped 5.3 percent. Japan's Nomura Holdings advanced 1.9 percent. Australia's Westpac Banking Corp. added 1.7 percent.

Wall Street closed higher Friday, boosted by strong company earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.6 percent to 14,512.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed up 0.7 percent at 1,556.89. The Nasdaq composite average closed up 0.7 percent at 3,245.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 44 cents to $94.15 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.26, or 1.4 percent, to finish at $93.71 a barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3036 from $1.2983 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 94.81 yen from 94.48 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-rise-cyprus-bailout-set-051906055--finance.html

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Pitchford On PS4: Sony Really Listened To What We Had To Say

The PlayStation 4 has managed to garner plenty of praise, especially from developers.

And that's not only because Sony's new console offers accessible architecture; it's also because designers know Sony actually listened. Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford definitely appreciates that important effort, as evidenced by his recent PAX East panel talk.

After saying he's "really excited" about the PS4 and that he "always loves more power," Pitchford said that Sony listening to developers was key:

"They really invited us into the process and I can say definitively that they listened to what we had to say and made the platform better because they listened to the developers."

Most will agree that Sony did the right thing, especially because so many game makers complained about the prohibitive PS3 architecture right out of the gate. Undoubtedly, what developers most wanted from Sony this new generation was a system that didn't require years of learning and adaptation. As for the competition, Pitchford said he's not allowed to divulge any details but he's also excited there, too.

Yes, well, 2013 is bound to be an interesting year for everyone in the industry. And of course, gamers as well.

Tags: ps4, playstation 4, randy pitchford, gearbox software

3/24/2013 9:49:41 PM John Shepard

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Losing wetlands to grow crops

Public release date: 24-Mar-2013
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Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Getting enough to eat is a basic human need but at what cost to the environment? Research published in BioMed Central's journal Agriculture & Food Security demonstrates that as their crops on higher ground fail due to unreliable rainfall, people in countries like Uganda are increasingly relocating to wetland areas. Unless the needs of these people are addressed in a more sustainable way, overuse of wetland resources through farming, fishing, and hunting will continue.

In 2009 it was estimated that about a third of Uganda's wetlands had been lost to growing crops and grazing. While the environmental significance of wetland loss is important, so are National Food Security targets and the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. In order to evaluate how people are using the wetlands researchers from Makerere University, Uganda, with financial support from IDRC surveyed residents living in either Lake Victoria crescent, Kyoga plains, and South Western farmlands.

The survey revealed that more than 80% of people in these areas use wetland resources including collecting water, catching fish, hunting bush meat (Sitatunga, a type of antelope, and wild rat), and harvesting wild fruits and vegetables. Some of these they consume but others they sell in order to be able to buy food. Over half admitted to growing crops in the nutrient rich soil wetlands with its ready water supply. The families who were most likely to use the wetlands in this way were the ones who had the least access to other sources of food.

The locals blame their bad harvests on global warming, and as global weather systems change this can only get worse. Dr Nelson Turyahabwe explained, "Food insecurity is a real problem across the world. In Uganda the families most at risk tended to have younger or female household heads, or were less educated. Large families were also at high risk of not having enough to eat. In these cases use of wetlands allows families to survive. In designing sustainable use policies for wetlands the needs of humans also needs to be considered."

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes

1. Contribution of wetland resources to household food security in Uganda

Nelson Turyahabwe, Willy Kakuru, Manson Tweheyo and David Mwesigye Tumusiime

Agriculture & Food Security 2012, 2:5 doi:10.1186/2048-7010-2-5

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

2. Agriculture & Food Security is a peer-reviewed open access journal that addresses the challenge of global food security. It publishes articles within the field of food security research, with a particular focus on research that may inform more sustainable agriculture and food systems that better address local, regional, national and/or global food and nutritional insecurity.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral

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Public release date: 24-Mar-2013
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Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Getting enough to eat is a basic human need but at what cost to the environment? Research published in BioMed Central's journal Agriculture & Food Security demonstrates that as their crops on higher ground fail due to unreliable rainfall, people in countries like Uganda are increasingly relocating to wetland areas. Unless the needs of these people are addressed in a more sustainable way, overuse of wetland resources through farming, fishing, and hunting will continue.

In 2009 it was estimated that about a third of Uganda's wetlands had been lost to growing crops and grazing. While the environmental significance of wetland loss is important, so are National Food Security targets and the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. In order to evaluate how people are using the wetlands researchers from Makerere University, Uganda, with financial support from IDRC surveyed residents living in either Lake Victoria crescent, Kyoga plains, and South Western farmlands.

The survey revealed that more than 80% of people in these areas use wetland resources including collecting water, catching fish, hunting bush meat (Sitatunga, a type of antelope, and wild rat), and harvesting wild fruits and vegetables. Some of these they consume but others they sell in order to be able to buy food. Over half admitted to growing crops in the nutrient rich soil wetlands with its ready water supply. The families who were most likely to use the wetlands in this way were the ones who had the least access to other sources of food.

The locals blame their bad harvests on global warming, and as global weather systems change this can only get worse. Dr Nelson Turyahabwe explained, "Food insecurity is a real problem across the world. In Uganda the families most at risk tended to have younger or female household heads, or were less educated. Large families were also at high risk of not having enough to eat. In these cases use of wetlands allows families to survive. In designing sustainable use policies for wetlands the needs of humans also needs to be considered."

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Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes

1. Contribution of wetland resources to household food security in Uganda

Nelson Turyahabwe, Willy Kakuru, Manson Tweheyo and David Mwesigye Tumusiime

Agriculture & Food Security 2012, 2:5 doi:10.1186/2048-7010-2-5

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

2. Agriculture & Food Security is a peer-reviewed open access journal that addresses the challenge of global food security. It publishes articles within the field of food security research, with a particular focus on research that may inform more sustainable agriculture and food systems that better address local, regional, national and/or global food and nutritional insecurity.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral

---

[ | 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/2013-03/bc-lwt032113.php

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Skydive instructor and student plummet to their deaths in Florida

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. --?Authorities say a skydive instructor and a student who jumped separately have died in Florida.

The skydivers, both men, were part of a jump Saturday in Zephyrhills, about 30 miles northeast of Tampa. Authorities say the plane took off about 10:30 a.m. and 22 people jumped. When only 20 returned, authorities started searching for the missing men.

The bodies were located about 7:30 p.m. in a wooded area south of the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. They were found near each other.

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Pasco County sheriff's spokeswoman Melanie Snow would not comment on whether their parachutes had opened, saying that was part of the investigation.

The skydivers were part of a jump through Skydive City in Zephyrhills.

Snow says authorities will release the names after next of kin are notified.?

-- The Associated Press

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29ea9331/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C230C174337320Eskydive0Einstructor0Eand0Estudent0Eplummet0Eto0Etheir0Edeaths0Ein0Eflorida0Dlite/story01.htm

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Senate narrowly passes first budget in four years (tbo)

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Germany wins 3-0 at Kazakhstan in WCup qualifier

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:44 p.m. ET March 22, 2013

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) -Thomas Mueller scored one goal and played a role in two others as Germany cruised to a 3-0 win in Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier on Friday.

The victory leaves Germany in control of Group C of European qualifying, ahead of Sweden. Germany will host Kazakhstan on Tuesday in Nuremberg.

"It was our job to win here," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "The game was decided by halftime. We moved the ball well in the first half but it wasn't easy to find space."

Mueller played a part in Bastian Schweinsteiger's 20th-minute goal, Mario Goetze netted in the 22nd from a pass by Mueller, who completed the win in the 74th.

Germany played Goetze as a "false nine" because the squad's only striker, Mario Gomez, injured his hamstring in practice and had to sit out the match. Several other regulars were also missing because of injury.

The match kicked off at midnight local time on the artificial pitch at Astana Arena.

Germany had practiced on a similar surface back home and took control from the start as expected, scoring a pair of goals inside a span of three minutes.

Schweinsteiger connected with a pass from Mesut Oezil inside the box, controlled the ball well to shake off two defenders and sent a shot that glanced off the chest of Mueller into the net.

"I think I'll give him 20 percent of the first goal," Mueller said after he and Schweinsteiger watched a replay.

Mueller used a mix-up between the Kazakhstan goalkeeper and a defender to roll the ball to Goetze, who fired inside the roof of the net.

Kazakhstan gave the Germans more of a fight in the second half, but Loew's team had also switched down a gear.

Kazakhstan substitute Ulan Konysbaev struck the crossbar in the 69th with a tremendous shot from the edge of the area. One minute later, Schweinsteiger was booked for tripping Konysbaev and will be suspended for the match in Nuremberg.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was tested in the 71st when Heinrich Schmidtgal, who plays for bottom-place Greuther Fuerth in the Bundesliga, shot from the left side of the box. Neuer stretched his right arm to turn the ball away.

Shortly after that, Goetze and Oezil combined to set up Mueller for Germany's third goal.

"We took the three points and that's what's important," Mueller said. "We can put it behind us now and look ahead."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Anatomy of the Apple ID password reset exploit

When the Verge broke news of Apple?s password reset vulnerability, they cited a step-by-step guide that detailed the process of exploiting the service. They declined to link to the source for security reasons, and rightfully so. However, now that Apple has closed the security hole the topic of how it worked and why is worth exploring.

While iMore doesn?t know what the original source was, we were able to reproduce the exploit independently. In the interest of helping people understand how they were put at risk, and allowing anybody designing their own systems to avoid similar security holes in the future, after a lot of consideration and carefully weighing the pros and cons, we have decided to detail and analyze the exploit.

Normally the password reset process has 6 steps:
1. On iforgot.apple.com, enter your Apple ID to begin the process.
2. Select an authentication method - ?Answer security questions? is the one we would use.
3. Enter your date of birth.
4. Answer two security questions.
5. Enter your new password.
6. Be taken to a success page saying your password has been reset.

What should happen in a process like this is that each step can only be performed once all of the steps before it have successfully been completed. The security hole was a result of this not being properly enforced in Apple?s password reset process.

In step 5, when you submit your new password, a form is sent to the iForgot servers with the password change request. The form being sent takes shape as a URL that sends along all of the information needed from this last page to change your password and looks something like this:

https://iforgot.apple.com/iForgot/resetPassword.html?forceBetterPlusPasswordRules=true&password=NEWPASSWORD&aolParameter=false&borderValue=true&confirmPassword=NEWPASSWORD&findAccount=false&myAppleIdImageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fappleid.apple.com%2Fcgi-bin%2FWebObjects%2FMyAppleId.woa%3Flocalang%3Den_US&appendingURL=&urlhit=false&accountName=johnny%40apple.com

In the steps above, an attacker would be required to properly complete steps 1-3. The URL had the effect of allowing them to skip step 4, achieve step 5, and get confirmation in step 6 that they had successfully reset a user?s password. With a fix now in place, if you try this, you will get a message saying ?Your request could not be completed.? and you?ll have to restart the password reset process.

The necessary URL could be acquired by walking through a normal password reset on your own Apple ID, and watching the network traffic being sent when you submitted your new password in step 5. The URL could also be constructed manually by somebody if they looked at the HTML of the password reset page to see what information the page would be submitting in the form.

When Apple initially put a maintenance message on the iForgot page to prevent user?s from doing a password reset, it suffered from a nearly identically problem. While you could no longer enter your Apple ID and click Next to get to step 2, if you already knew the full URL with form info needed, you could put it into your browser and be taken right to the ?Select authentication method? page.

https://iforgot.apple.com/iForgot/authenticationmethod.html?language=US-EN&defAppleId=johnny%40apple.com&urlhit=false

From here the rest of the password reset process worked as normal. Upon being made aware of this, Apple took the entire iForgot page offline.

It is still unclear if this exploit was ever used in the wild, but hopefully Apple?s response was fast enough to stop any would-be attackers. Apple also issued a statement to the Verge yesterday in response to the security hole, stating "Apple takes customer privacy very seriously. We are aware of this issue, and working on a fix.?, though we have yet to see any comment from them regarding how it happened or how many users may have been affected.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/lOxxmJi3nf4/story01.htm

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