Saturday, 17 August 2013
Wurzeltech Pvt Ltd : Can Firefox OS be the new Android?
Wurzeltech Pvt Ltd : Can Firefox OS be the new Android?: "It cannot be right that two companies lock down and control their experience … it's the equivalent of two companies controllin...
WASHINGTON The U.S. military is heavily dependent on Egypt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is heavily dependent on Egypt to move personnel and equipment to Afghanistan and around volatile parts of the Middle East, complicating U.S. efforts to place pressure on the Egyptian military in the wake of its violent crackdown on protesters.
"Egypt has been a cornerstone for the U.S. military presence in the Middle East," said James Phillips, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
During the past year, more than 2,000 U.S. military aircraft flew through Egyptian airspace, supporting missions in Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the region.
About 35 to 45 U.S. 5th Fleet naval ships pass through the Suez Canal annually, including carrier strike groups, according to the Bahrain-based fleet. Egypt has allowed U.S. warships to be expedited, which often means getting to the head of a very long line of ships waiting for access to the canal.
"The Egyptian military has always been good to us," said Kenneth Pollack, an analyst at the Brookings Institution.
EGYPT: Latest on deadly clashes
Egyptian cooperation is particularly critical at a time when the Pentagon is facing budget pressures and tensions with Iran remain high.
In response to the Egyptian military's bloody crackdown on protesters, President Obama announced this week that the United States would cancel Bright Star, a training exercise with Egypt that had been scheduled for next month. Washington has also suspended the delivery of a shipment of F-16 fighter aircraft.
Obama stopped short of cutting off the $1.3 billion in annual military aid it supplies to Egypt, though some in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have called for cutting the aid.
In canceling the exercise, the president said he was balancing the need to advance U.S. interests with "the principles that we believe in."
If Egypt cut off its airspace and canal access, the U.S. military would face heavier costs and much longer transit times as it positions troops and equipment in the Middle East.
For example, without access to the canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, warships would generally have to sail around Africa in order to get to the Persian Gulf.
Analysts say Egypt's ruling military would probably not cut off air and sea access immediately if U.S. aid were cut, but the relationship might deteriorate rapidly, particularly if Egypt's generals feel they don't need the aid.
Persian Gulf states may take up some of the slack if the United States cuts its aid. Relieved that Egypt's military removed a Muslim Brotherhood government, Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, have already pledged billions of dollars to Egypt.
Historically, Egypt's leaders have been sensitive to the appearance that outside powers are pushing them around. Egypt closed the 120-mile-long Suez Canal after the Six Day Arab-Israeli war in 1967.
"Egyptian nationalism is a critical factor," said Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
U.S. military leaders have remained in touch with their Egyptian counterparts throughout the crisis in an effort to maintain the close relationship and communicate Washington's concerns.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after the crackdown that led to the deaths of hundreds of Egyptians.
"The Department of Defense will continue to maintain a military relationship with Egypt, but I made it clear that the violence and inadequate steps towards reconciliation are putting important elements of our longstanding defense cooperation at risk," Hagel said in a statement.
In Washington, the Pentagon will emphasize the importance of the military relationship in discussions with the White House as the president considers further steps to deal with the Egyptian crisis.
But U.S. military leaders will not want to be seen as trying to unduly influence Obama's decisions, analysts say.
"In this administration, the Department of Defense has been incredibly wary to be seen as pushing the White House to do anything," Pollack said.
Follow @jimmichaels on Twitter.
Thursday, 8 August 2013
FBI pressures Internet providers to install surveillance software
FBI pressures Internet providers to install surveillance software
CNET has learned the FBI has developed custom "port reader" software to intercept Internet metadata in real time. And, in some cases, it wants to force Internet providers to use the software.
CRAWFORD BLOG | Bilas screenshoots, scores on NCAA
CRAWFORD BLOG | Bilas screenshoots, scores on NCAA
Posted: Aug 07, 2013 9:59 AM ISTUpdated: Aug 07, 2013 10:02 AM IST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- ESPN analyst Jay Bilas remains a practicing attorney. This little piece of research, however, was pro bono.
When he heard what the NCAA, and in particular Collegiate Licensing Company, a corporate partner, had said in a legal filing in advance of the federal antitrust lawsuit against it brought by former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon and others, Bilas got curious.
CLC said that its jersey sales were simply sales of team jerseys, and had nothing to do with any individual players.
So Bilas did a natural thing. He went onto the NCAA merchandise website, entered "Johnny Manziel" into the search window, and got this:
When he heard what the NCAA, and in particular Collegiate Licensing Company, a corporate partner, had said in a legal filing in advance of the federal antitrust lawsuit against it brought by former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon and others, Bilas got curious.
CLC said that its jersey sales were simply sales of team jerseys, and had nothing to do with any individual players.
So Bilas did a natural thing. He went onto the NCAA merchandise website, entered "Johnny Manziel" into the search window, and got this:
Emboldened, Bilas then spent much of the afternoon searching for players and finding that their corresponding jerseys would pop up on the screen.
Jadaveon Clowney, Teddy Bridgewater, Tajh Boyd, A.J. McCarron, Silas Redd, Deanthony Thomas, Marqise Lee, Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammad, they were all there, even suspended players, like Notre Dame's Everett Golson, and the departed, like LSU's Tyrann Mathieu.
In response, the NCAA did the most upstanding and natural thing.
It got rid of the search box.
Didn't matter. Bilas came back with a workaround, noting that you could still enter the "shopncaasports.com" site name, then /search/braxtonmiller and the same thing would appear.
In other words, Bilas in the matter of a dozen tweets destroyed a major plank of NCAA reasoning. And exposed a major dose of NCAA hypocrisy.
Players aren't allowed to profit off their position as college athletes, yet the NCAA is allowed to profit greatly off marketing and selling their jerseys and other memorabilia.
The NCAA had no comment on Bilas' Tweets today.
After practice on Tuesday, the subject came up with University of Louisville coach Charlie Strong. He said, "With the money being made right now with the TV contracts, we've got to find a way to pay players. Eventually I think it's going to happen, if enough coaches take a stance, it will work its way out. . . . You look at us as coaches, we're overpaid. We make a lot of money and the players aren't making anything, so I'd like to see that happen for them."
Several proposals have been put forward. A proposal for a school-provided "stipend" for student-athletes was rejected last year, but remains on the table with an NCAA summit of Division I conferences coming up. Such a stipend, however, poses issues for smaller schools and would be required to be paid to athletes in sports across the board.
Much more simple is the notion of allowing players, in some way, to receive money or education credit from sales of items bearing their number. The compensation could be deferred and linked to academic progress, or any number of factors.
Regardless, Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was well-drilled on the question. And he wasn't touching it.
"I'm here getting my education and that's the most important thing," Bridgewater said. "That's priceless. You can't put a price on that. So, you know, as far as being paid to play sports, I feel like we are being paid, academically."
Still, Bilas won the day with his search-box maneuver. And the NCAA took another public relations pummeling.
Copyright 2013 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Saturday, 20 July 2013
A Day in the Life of Oscar Grant
'Fruitvale Station' is a delicate but powerful treatment of a real-life tragedy
When Oscar Grant woke up on Dec. 31, 2008, he did not know that by the end of the night, he would become a rallying symbol for police brutality and racial tensions.
That's because when Grant woke up that morning, he didn't know he would be shot in the back – while unarmed and restrained – by a BART officer at an Oakland, Calif. train station. New Year's Eve revelers looking on from the train recorded the encounter with their cell phones, turning it into a viral Internet video which then escalated into an international story. This grainy cell phone footage begins "Fruitvale Station," a film that re-imagines (with ample research) that day in Grant's life, turning a victim into a human and a crime into a tragedy.
"Fruitvale Station," directed and written by Ryan Coogler, follows Oscar – a 22-year-old African-American – on the day he dies. We watch him make decisions: some good, some bad, some meaningless and some fatal. Set against the neighborhoods of Oakland (Coogler is a Bay Area native), we learn not just what it means to be a young, black man in America, but what it means to be this young, black man in America.
Oscar drops his daughter off at school, buys his mom a birthday card, argues with his girlfriend, begs a former employer for his job back and fills his car with gas. We get to know not just Oscar (Michael B. Jordan), but those who loved him: his girlfriend (Melonie Diaz), who despite all her misgivings won't give up on him; his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose blend of compassion and tough love bring out the best in all around her; and his four-year-old daughter (Ariana Neal), who captures the purest of Oscar's devotion.
As the day goes on, dread grows as the hours lurch toward that titular moment. The scene, filmed at the actual BART station, is intricately re-enacted. Even though the opening footage makes it clear what's coming, the lethal climax is no less intense.
Throughout the film, Coogler carries the character of Oscar with a tender but restrained hand, choosing small moments – like a footrace with his daughter or an exchange with a fellow grocery store customer – rather than grand gestures in order to earn our affection. This is no definitive statement on race. Instead, Coogler sprinkles his film with little jokes and observations, with many that speak to both the good and bad in people.
Oscar is kind and well-intentioned, a doting father and son. But Jordan also lets Oscar's reckless tendencies and irresponsibility peak through his outward benevolence. Though Jordan had memorable roles in "The Wire" and "Friday Night Lights," his performance in "Fruitvale Station" is surely a break-out for the 25-year-old actor.
As Oscar's girlfriend Sophina, Diaz – also a newcomer – is both audacious and grounded as she pushes Oscar to be a better father and person. Spencer is wonderful, embodying the spectrum of emotions – love, devotion, disappointment, sadness – a mother feels for her child. Even Neal is enthralling as Oscar's adorable and rapturous daughter.
It's easy, particularly with the heightened racial atmosphere in the country at the moment, to argue Coogler bathes his Oscar in too glowing of a light. The real-life Grant's reported jail sentence, drug dealing and infidelity are included, but framed as opportunities for redemption.
Nevertheless, Coogler rounds out his Oscar in more nuanced ways. He shows us Oscar's anger, cowardice and dishonesty alongside the compassion, generosity and humor. But in all its subtlety, the message in Coogler's debut film is clear and effective: Oscar should have had a Jan. 1, 2009 – another day to decide his future.
Friday, 19 July 2013
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