Jonathan promises full implementation of national broadband ...

By BEN AGANDE

Abuja ? President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged that his administration will take immediate steps to fully implement the report of the Presidential Committee on a National Broadband Strategy and Roadmap which submitted its report yesterday.

Speaking after receiving the report yesterday, president Jonathan said the successful implementation of the National Broadband Strategy and Roadmap will help to positively revolutionize communications in Nigeria.

According to the President the committee?s view that broadband is to the 21st century information age what electricity was to the industrial age represents his conviction and he would give his full? support to ensure that Nigeria is wholly integrated into the global digital communications network.

The president said ?any country that lags behind in the current age of ICT will miss a lot. That is why we have created a separate Ministry of Communications Technology to facilitate the establishment of the best digital communications infrastructure in Nigeria and optimize our adoption of global best practices in the use of information and communications technology.

?I thank you for your work and I assure you that the report will be adopted by government and implementation will begin immediately because our people are hungry for information and we are in a hurry to fully integrate our country into the digital communications age,? the President told members of the committee.

The Committee, which was established in September 2012 to develop a broadband strategy and roadmap for Nigeria, said that the key objectives of the plan which it has evolved are: to promote pervasive broadband deployment in the country; increase broadband adoption and usage and ensure the availability of broadband services at affordable prices to maximize its socio-economic and political benefits.

It is expected that in the 2013-2018 implementation period a five-fold increase in internet and broadband penetration will be achieved in the country.

It is also intended that all state capitals and urban cities will have metro-fibre infrastructure installed within the period.

Speaking with state House correspondents after the submission of the report, the co-chairman of the committee and former executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Ernest Ndukwe said the committee took into consideration all the factors that would militate against the full implementation of the road map saying that it proposed that the cost of accessing broadband should be affordable to all sector of the country.

He said the key objectives of the broadband plan include the promotion of pervasive broadband deployment, increasing its adoption and usage and ensuring availability of broadband services at affordable prices in order to maximize its political and economic benefits.

The co-chairman noted that during the period of the plan, there would be a fivefold increase in internet and broadband penetration in the country with the installation of metro fibre infrastructure in all state capitals and urban centres in order for Nigerian citizens to enjoy world class wireless broadband as a basic access medium for the society.

The report was? was jointly presented to the president by the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson and the Co-Chairmen of the Committee, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe and Mr. Jim Ovia.

Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/jonathan-promises-full-implementation-of-national-broadband-roadmap/

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Daddy dearest! Smiths join other dad-son duos

Pop culture

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper TODAY

2 hours ago

In "After Earth," which opens Friday, father and son Will and Jaden Smith play ... a father and son. But from there on out, things are pretty different than their real-life relationship. The film is set in the future, and the Smiths play a seasoned general and his young recruit son who crash-land on an abandoned Earth, meaning Jaden Smith must set out on a dangerous mission to save his father. We're guessing the closest 14-year-old Jaden comes to this kind of thing in real life is when he has to carry a dangerously hot latte to his dad at the Beverly Hills Starbucks.

Columbia Pictures

Will and Jaden Smith play father and son in "After Earth."

The Smiths are far from the only father-son entertainers who've worked together -- and many often slip right into their real-life roles, playing dad and child onscreen as well as off. Here are just a few.

Jerry and Ben Stiller
Jerry Stiller was a comic star before son Ben, born in 1965, was even out of diapers. (So was Ben's mom, Jerry's comedy partner, Anne Meara.) Dad and son have traded quips in numerous movies -- perhaps most memorably in "Zoolander." They've played father and son twice, in 1987 comedy "Hot Pursuit" and 20 years later in "The Heartbreak Kid."

Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen
Here's a rare non-acting duo. Many sons join the family business, but few sons can say their family business is a rock 'n' roll band. Wolfgang Van Halen had music in his blood -- he was even named for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And in 2006, when he was just 15, he became the bassist for dad Eddie's famed group, Van Halen.

Getty Images

Tom and Colin Hanks.

Tom and Colin Hanks
Tom Hanks has his own stellar movie career of course, but in 2008, he played the father of his real-life son, Colin, in the well-reviewed comedy-drama "The Great Buck Howard." In the film, young Hanks defies his dad and quits law school to work with a has-been mentalist (John Malkovich). In real life, we're betting Colin is more likely to follow dad's advice than disregard it.

Kirk, Michael and Cameron Douglas
Kudos to Clan Douglas for pulling off that rarest three-generation film. In the aptly named 2003 film "It Runs in the Family," Kirk Douglas plays the father of real-life son Michael, and Michael plays the father of his real-life son Cameron. And Michael Douglas' own mother, actress Diana Dill, plays his mother. Sadly, the family affair wasn't embraced by critics -- the late Roger Ebert wrote that, "despite its gimmick casting, the movie ultimately goes nowhere."

AFP/Getty Images

Donald and Kiefer Sutherland.

Kiefer and Donald Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland started out his career in Neil Simon's 1983 film "Max Dugan Returns," and while his father Donald was also in the movie, they did not play father and son. The two famous Sutherland boys also starred in the 1996 adaptation of John Grisham's "A Time to Kill," though again, not as family members -- the elder Sutherland played a liberal lawyer, the younger a KKK member.

Martin and Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen's dad, Martin, was a recurring guest star playing the dad of Charlie's character in the first season of sitcom "Anger Management." His character has now been added as a regular. This isn't the first time the Sheens played father and son -- you may remember them from "Wall Street," when Martin Sheen played the blue-collar union-loyal dad of Charlie's slick yuppie go-getter. Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/father-son-will-jaden-smith-not-only-family-pair-working-6C10110186

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Apple?s Latest Offering: The Summer Selfie iPod Touch

After months of nothing, Apple has dropped a new, cheaper summertime fun iPod touch.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/7mMFSmJK7F4/

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WWE Main Event results: High-octane action in Edmonton

Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett: WWE Main Event, May 29, 2013Tons of Funk & R-Truth vs. 3MB: WWE Main Event, May 29, 2013Meet the new announce team: WWE Main Event, May 29, 2013Justin Gabriel vs. Antonio Cesaro: WWE Main Event, May 29, 2013Damien Sandow looks to outwit Sheamus in the Thimblerig Challenge: SmackDown, May 31, 2013Sheamus & Randy Orton vs. Team Rhodes Scholars: Raw, May 27, 2013Sheamus & Randy Orton face Team Rhodes Scholars: WWE App Exclusive, May 27, 2013

EDMONTON, Alberta ? WWE Main Event was full of pulse-pounding WWE action including Sheamus battling Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel going toe-to-toe with Antonio Cesaro and R-Truth joining forces with Tons of Funk to face 3MB. Also, a brand new commentary team of The Miz, Josh Matthews and Ricardo Rodriguez debuted!

Sheamus def. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (Non-Title Match)

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett and The Celtic Warrior are no strangers inside the squared circle. They have faced off previously in battles that have degraded into all-out brawls. Also, still visibly upset over his loss to Fandango on Raw following The Miz?s interference as special guest referee, Barrett engaged in a heated exchange with The Awesome One before the contest, only to ramp up tensions.

WWE MAIN EVENT PHOTOS?| WATCH SHEAMUS AND BARRETT BRAWL

The familiarity between Sheamus and Barrett was clearly evident early in the contest as momentum swings remained even. Although The Celtic Warrior tried to rely on his strength to keep The Barrett Barrage at bay, The Bareknuckle Brawler?s resilience was enough to balance out Sheamus? offense.

The physicality of the contest reached a fever pitch when Barrett knocked his opponent out of the ring causing Sheamus to apparently injure his elbow. Alas, The Fighting Irishman remained in the fight even as Barrett targeted the elbow.

Just as the WWE Universe had hoped, the match turned into an all-out brawl with neither Superstar maintaining an edge for very long. It became impossible to predict who would have his hand raised in victory. Barrett and Sheamus pulled out all the stops, but it was ultimately a Brogue Kick out of nowhere that secured a hard-fought victory for The Celtic Warrior.

Following the contest, the Intercontinental Champion had some harsh words for the Canadian crowd, claiming he was so tough he could beat them all. Barrett then directed his attention to his nemesis, The Miz. Challenging The Awesome One ended up making the British grappler?s night even worse as he was silenced with a Skull-Crushing Finale.

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwemainevent/2013-05-29/results

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This Tiny Telescope Will Be The First Moon-Mounted Webcam

Ever since humans looked up, we've been obsessed with gazing deep into the seemingly infinite cosmos. We've got plenty of telescopes both on Earth and floating around it that are staring out into the abyss, but the ILO-X is going to be perched on the moon. And you'll be able to use it right from your computer.

A joint venture between International Lunar Observatory Association and Moon Express, the ILO-X has been in the works for a while, but now its form is finally complete. Sometime in 2015, it'll be the first private telescope to land on the moon with all its discoveries piped right back to our terrestrial Internet. And that's just the beginning; the plan is to eventually have an entire remote-controlled observatory at the moon's south pole, but you've got to start somewhere.

The ILO-X is a tiny little sucker, about the size of a shoebox, and its camera has a mere 6.4-megapixel resolution. But the goal isn't to be the best telescope out there. The aim is to be a lunar telescope anyone can use. The 'scope's Internet-based control system was already tested here on Earth, and so now the only step is to get that souped-up webcam on the moon.

It'll still be a while before the privately owned Moon Express can launch this baby, but it's about time someone gets started on that moonbase, right? And maybe, with a little luck, we'll be able to go up there and visit it someday. [ILOA via Engadget]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-tiny-telescope-will-be-the-first-moon-mounted-webc-510288573

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Lamar Alexander Poised to Unveil His Maverick GOP Vision for Energy Future

A Republican senator from a deep-red state gives a high-profile speech Wednesday laying out a GOP vision for America's energy future?a blueprint that includes a direct acknowledgment of the problem of global warming caused by carbon pollution and which calls for more, not less, government spending on clean-energy research.

The senator is Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a moderate with serious energy-policy chops: He is the top Republican on the Senate panel that funds the Energy Department and represents a state that's home to a major Energy Department research lab, Oak Ridge.

The speech, which he'll deliver at the Oak Ridge facility, is in keeping with views Alexander has long espoused. But it's in stark contrast to the energy and climate positions taken by his party's leaders since 2010. After the tea party helped fuel the Republican takeover of the House, denying the science of climate change went from a fringe to a mainstream Republican view, and the House even passed a bill declaring that climate change was a hoax. Super PACs such as Americans for Prosperity, which has ties to the oil conglomerate Koch Industries, targeted Republicans who acknowledged climate change and supported renewable energy. During the 2012 presidential campaign, every Republican candidate but one, Jon Huntsman, questioned or denied the science concluding that carbon pollution causes global warming.

Alexander's speech highlights the widening schism on energy and climate change between moderates like himself and party leaders like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, often named as a likely 2016 presidential candidate. At a speech in March, Rubio said, "The people who are actually closed-minded in American politics are the people who love to preach about the certainty of science with regards to our climate but ignore the absolute fact that science has proven that life begins at conception." Alexander himself has acknowledged the divide?last year, he stepped down after five years as the chairman of the Republican conference, criticizing the party's increasing ideological partisanship.

Republican strategists say they'll be paying close attention.

"Lamar is a pretty interesting guy. Given his swingy nature, lots of people are going to pay attention to what he is saying," said Mike McKenna, an energy lobbyist and strategist who helped craft House Republicans' energy messaging.

Since 2010, many formerly moderate Republicans have shifted far to the right on energy and climate positions, in part to avoid attacks from groups such as Americans for Prosperity ahead of reelection campaigns. But although Alexander is up for reelection next year, he is not backing down from his long-held energy positions. The former Tennessee governor is not facing a primary challenger and is expected to maintain a comfortable lead over Democratic challenger Larry Crim.

Five years ago, Alexander gave a similar energy speech at Oak Ridge, laying out seven "grand challenges" on energy, including finding ways to promote plug-in electric vehicles, capture and use carbon emissions, help solar become cost-competitive, safely manage nuclear waste, make biofuels competitive with gasoline, make new buildings green buildings, and create energy from fusion. At the time, those goals were well in line with the views of the GOP's presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Alexander's speech will provide a progress report on those goals?and propose a plan for a Republican energy future.

The speech will directly acknowledge climate change and the need to reduce carbon pollution. "While the United States has made more gains in reducing the use of carbon than any other industrial country, the National Academies of the U.S. and 12 other countries have warned that human activity has contributed significantly to climate change and global warming," Alexander will say, according to prepared remarks.

He'll then lay out "four grand principles" to "help the United States end an obsession with taxpayer subsidies and strategies for expensive energy and instead focus on doubling research and allowing marketplace solutions to create an abundance of clean, cheap, reliable energy."

His four principles are: cheaper, not more expensive energy; clean, not just renewable energy; research and development, not government mandates; and a free market, not government, picking winners and losers.

More specifically, he'll praise the U.S. boom in development of natural gas, a source of electricity that produces half the carbon pollution of coal. While he'll acknowledge the role renewable-energy sources such as solar play in the nation's energy mix, he'll also push for development of low-carbon electricity sources such as nuclear and hydropower. He'll praise the work done by the Energy Department lab ARPA-E, which researches high-risk, high-reward breakthrough clean-energy technologies?a move that comes on the heels of a GOP campaign railing against President Obama for the bankruptcy of the solar company Solyndra, which took $500 million in an Energy Department loan guarantee.

In addition, Alexander will call for an end to government subsidies on wind energy, a policy he's long opposed. The proposals hardly line up exactly with President Obama's green agenda, but with their clear focus on low-carbon energy, they are a far cry from the stance of many in the GOP.

"I've been fascinated with the progress we've made on the seven grand challenges I suggested five years ago," Alexander will say. "Perhaps by focusing on these four principles, we can capitalize on this progress toward cheap, clean, reliable energy."

Still, Republicans say that a voice like Alexander's will have serious heft as the GOP reckons with its energy and climate future.

"Lamar is a strong and credible voice for Republicans on energy issues," said Republican strategist Mark McKinnon. "He has standing to make the case."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lamar-alexander-poised-unveil-maverick-gop-vision-energy-142445896.html

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Enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence market drops 13.2 ...

CBR Staff Writer Published 29 May 2013

Worst result since the second quarter of 2010.

Global enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence equipment revenues dropped 13.2% during first quarter of 2013 to $563.4m, according to a new report from IDC.

Said to have registered the worst result since the second quarter of 2010, the market also experienced a 21.9% drop in revenues quarter over quarter.

During Q1, the video network infrastructure market declined 20.5%, while the multi-codec immersive telepresence, single-codec telepresence, and personal videoconferencing reported 10.7% drop year-on-year.

The market for enterprise videoconferencing and telepresence in Latin America dropped 3.5%, followed by the 9.1% decline in Asia/Pacific, with Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) reporting a 10.1% decrease year-on-year.

North America experienced a major drop of 20% year-on-year.

IDC Enterprise Communications Infrastructure senior analyst Rich Costello said that videoconferencing vendors point to longer procurement cycles, the still challenging macroeconomic situation in EMEA, and a slowdown in IT spending in some key global markets such as China and India as reasons for the challenging first quarter results.

"No doubt these are certainly valid reasons for the recent quarterly decreases in video equipment revenue we are seeing," Costello said.

"In addition, IDC believes that increasing customer considerations over more software-centric solutions, virtualization, cloud-based offerings, and real-time browser-based communications are beginning to challenge the video equipment market as well."

Cisco's videoconferencing equipment revenue dropped 17.2%, followed by Polycom with 12.4% decline.

IDC Worldwide Networking Trackers Research senior research analyst, Petr Jirovsky, said that despite another weak quarterly performance in the worldwide enterprise videoconferencing market, the video adoption is still being driven by interest in doing video integrations with vendor UC&C portfolios and business processes, as well as the increasing use of video collaboration for small workgroup, desktop, and mobile users.

"Video as a key component of collaboration continues to place high on the list of priorities for many organisations. But key questions going forward now include: How will these video collaboration solutions be deployed? With more software or hardware? And, as premise or cloud-based solutions?" Jirovsky said.

Source: http://unified.cbronline.com/news/enterprise-videoconferencing-and-telepresence-market-drops-132-in-q1-290513

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Deal of the Day ? Lowest price ever for Dell Inspiron 15z (5523) Core i3 Ultrabook with backlit keyboard and built-in optical drive

LogicBUY’s Deal for Thursday is the?15.6″ Dell Inspiron 15z (5523) Core i3 Ultrabook starting at?$549.99. ?Features: Core i3-3217U 1.9GHz Dual-core CPU 6GB RAM 500GB hard drive, 32GB mSATA SSD, DVD burner, 8-in-1 card reader Skullcandy speakers with with Waves MaxxAudio 4 HD webcam 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth HDMI, four USB 3.0 ports 90-day Premium Phone warranty [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/05/30/deal-of-the-day-lowest-price-ever-for-dell-inspiron-15z-5523-core-i3-ultrabook-with-backlit-keyboard-and-built-in-optical-drive/

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Postcards: A Much More Pleasant Way to Browse Tumblr

The Tumblr app is, admittedly, a wonderfully designed one. And there's no denying it has more functionality than something like Postcards. But for those who use Tumblr more as a means of finding articles to read instead zipping through streams of GIFs, this might be exactly what you're looking for.

What does it do?

Turns each post on Tumblr into individual "cards," which you can then swipe left and right to move backwards and forwards in your dashboard. As far as functionality, you can double-tap to like a post, hit reblog, or view all posts from a single user. And that's all there is to it.

Why do we like it?

Whether or not you'll be a fan of Postcards depends very much on how you use Tumblr as a whole. If you like to casually pass through pages of GIFs, pictures, and short little quips, this app probably doesn't make much sense. But flicking side-to-side is a fun, intuitive way to change up how you interact with your dashboard. And for someone who uses Tumblr to discover reading material, the lack of features brings along a welcome lack of distraction from your desired content. You can't create new posts, though. So if anything, Postcards is probably more of a nice enhancement to your Tumblr consumption?not a replacement.

Postcards, Download this app for: iOS, $2

The Best: Distraction-free browsing

The Worst: Highly limited functionality

Source: http://gizmodo.com/postcards-a-much-more-pleasant-way-to-browse-tumblr-510565305

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Sending humans to Mars holds radiation risk, study shows

A radiation-monitoring device carried by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurements during the trip to the red planet. A resulting study appears in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / May 30, 2013

This July 2007 image provided by NASA shows astronaut Clay Anderson waving during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. A trip to and from the red planet could expose travelers to an accumulated dose of radiation that would approach ? and in some cases exceed ? the maximum allowable career limits for a NASA astronaut.

NASA/AP/File

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For any astronaut tapped for a trip to Mars, a journey today would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience ? in more ways than one.

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With shielding comparable to the level built into NASA's new crew-exploration vehicle (CEV), just the trip to and from the red planet could expose travelers to an accumulated dose of radiation that would approach ? and in some cases exceed ? the maximum allowable career limits for a NASA astronaut.

The Europeans, Russians, and Canadians accept a somewhat more liberal exposure limit than the National Aeronautics and Space Administration does. Even at that limit, Mars would probably represent a memorable but one-and-done spaceflight career for any prospective astronaut.

Those are among the implications of measurements taken by a radiation-monitoring device that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity carries. The measurements were taken during Curiosity's 253-day, 347-million-mile trip to the red planet. The data were unveiled Thursday in a study set to appear in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"NASA is very excited to get this new cruise data," said Eddie Semones, radiation health officer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston during a briefing Thursday to discuss the results. The data also will help shape human-exploration missions other than to Mars, he adds, noting that missions to retrieve asteroids or even missions to the moon will benefit from the information the new results provide.

Scientists and engineers long have recognized radiation in space as perhaps the most significant challenge to exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, where Earth's magnetic field acts as a natural deflector shield.

The hazard has spawned a range of studies on how to deal with the risk, ranging from concepts for spacecraft that can generate protective magnetic fields to individual body armor for astronauts.

To date, researchers had gathered "outdoor" radiation measurements on a wide variety of robotic spacecraft visiting comets, asteroids, and other planets. The detectors on these missions were exposed to space by design, so they could measure radiation levels around a planet or in interplanetary space.

Curiosity's device, the Radiation Assessment Detector, is bolted to the rover's deck to measure surface radiation on Mars. So, like the rover, RAD was cocooned within the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its trip. Thus, its en route measurements provide the first data from within an interplanetary spacecraft and with a level of shielding that the first Mars explorers might receive from their craft.

The study comes at a time when two private groups are aiming to send humans to Mars long before any NASA astronauts are sent ? a prospect the Obama administration and the agency envision taking place after 2030.

In March, a group headed by Dennis Tito, the first space tourist to visit the International Space Station, announced the goal of sending two people on a 501-day fly-around mission to Mars, launching in 2018. The mission, Inspiration Mars, is a one-off attempt at inspiring a new generation of space explorers as well as providing NASA with information on technological, physiological, and psychological issues that no Earth-bound Mars analog station can deliver.

Earlier, a nonprofit group based in the Netherlands announced an effort to set up the first permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023.

The radiation that the new study examines ? actually speedy, electrically charged particles such as protons and ions ? comes from two sources.

The sun sends out a constant stream of protons in a feature called the solar wind. The wind is punctuated by solar storms, ranging from flares to enormous coronal-mass ejections ? the most powerful eruptions the sun delivers. The protons from these storms travel with higher energies than the solar wind and so represent the biggest particle-radiation risk from the sun, the RAD researchers say.

The second source is the galaxy itself, which bathes a spacecraft in low but persistent levels of energetic particles known as galactic cosmic rays. These are generated when massive stars explode as supernovae or in other high-energy cosmic events. About 85 percent of the cosmic rays are protons, another 14 percent are helium ions, and the remaining 1 percent consists of heavier ions.

Heavy-ion collisions can have an influence larger than their small proportion would suggest because when these smack into a spaceship, they create a shower of secondary particles that can inflict biological damage. However, estimates of the level of damage carry large uncertainties.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Cs31vMzhnfI/Sending-humans-to-Mars-holds-radiation-risk-study-shows

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Nasdaq to pay $10 million to settle SEC charges on Facebook snafu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX on Wednesday agreed to pay $10 million, the largest penalty ever levied against a stock exchange, to settle civil charges stemming from mistakes it made during Facebook's initial public offering last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

The SEC said that Nasdaq's series of "ill-fated decisions" on the day of the IPO led to a series of regulatory violations.

As a result, more than 30,000 Facebook orders remained stuck in Nasdaq's system for more than two hours when they should have been either executed or canceled, leaving investors in the lurch and causing market makers to lose an estimated $500 million.

The exchange operator agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasdaq-pay-10-million-settle-sec-charges-facebook-162343558.html

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Confusing Sanctions Are Aiding Government Repression

A young man wears a green ribbon around his wrist as a support sign for reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi at an Internet cafe in Hamadan, Iran, on May 26, 2009.

Photo by Nima Daymari/Getty Images

The Iranian government has been fortifying its so-called ?electronic curtain? in recent weeks. Connection speeds have slowed so dramatically that many basic websites and applications are unusable. Government monitoring of popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is on the rise. And common circumvention tools such as virtual private networks, which allow users to stay off the government radar, have become inaccessible.

Meanwhile, technologies by U.S. companies that support freedom of expression and secure communications are not available in Iran, Syria, and other fraught places?not because of bans by the regimes, but because of the complexities of U.S. sanctions. Companies face continued legal uncertainty, perceived political risk, and costs that deter them from making such technologies available. That?s why U.S. sanction regulations need to be updated to fully take into account the lessons of the Arab Spring and to support human rights online. That?s why it?s good news that Wendy Sherman, undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department, announced this week that the administration will take new steps to address this problem.

The situation in Iran, in particular, is heating up in anticipation of the presidential election on June 14, when Iranians will go to the polls to select a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In mid-April, the government announced that a ?special election cyberunit? called Fajr had been created to monitor social networking sites, and last week, the Guardian reported on a pre-emptive crackdown on activists. Offline, the government has canceled university classes and arrested several prominent journalists.?

Connectivity and the ability to access foreign websites have often been throttled by the regime?s efforts to control the political situation in Iran, especially in the wake of the Green Revolution of 2009. ?On the eve of dates or anniversaries that could give rise to demonstrations, the connection speed is slowed right down to prevent the circulation of photos and videos,? Reporters Without Borders noted in its 2013 ?Enemies of the Internet? report. Prior to the March 2012 parliamentary election, for example, the government ordered all Internet cafes to install security cameras and start collecting more detailed personal information from their users, in addition to adding new censorship and surveillance controls on its already heavily monitored network. Reports that the government is building a national information network (popularly dubbed the ?Halal Net?) further fuel concerns that the Iranian people will be increasingly denied the right to freedom of expression and access to information from outside sources.

President Barack Obama and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have expressed outrage about the situation in Iran. Since 2009, U.S. policymakers have attempted to incorporate Internet freedom into the Iranian and Syrian sanctions regulations. In 2010, the Treasury Department?with assistance from the State Department?carved out an exemption for Internet-based communications software and services vital to the work of democracy and human rights activists. In 2012, Treasury provided additional guidance by giving specific examples of technologies that are permissible under that exemption, such as Yahoo Messenger, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Meanwhile, last spring, President Obama issued an executive order imposing additional penalties on individuals and companies that provide Iran and Syria with information technology that could be used to restrict speech or monitor citizens.

Currently, some technologies that allow individuals to communicate safely and securely remain unavailable because U.S. companies are daunted by the ambiguity of existing regulations. Afraid of violating the law, companies opt not to work at all in sanctioned countries or to pull out. For instance, Samsung will soon block access to its app store in Iran. In an email to customers, the company said the change is due to ?legal barriers,? which seem to refer to American or European Union sanctions regulations. Nokia also is ?ceasing all revenue generating activities? in Iran, according to an email from a company representative. ?These steps are due to the difficult business environment and increasing restrictions on doing business in Iran.? In 2012, an Apple store in the United States even refused to sell an iPad to a Persian speaker, pointing to Apple policy saying that ?the exportation, sale or supply from the U.S. to Iran of any Apple goods is strictly prohibited without authorization by the U.S.?government.? After the incident, the State Department spokeswoman issued a statement clarifying that ?there is no U.S. policy or law that prohibits Apple or any other company from selling products in the United States to anybody who?s intending to use the product in the United States.?

Not having an iPad might not seem like a real problem, but companies? decision not to operate in authoritarian countries affects the security of people?s communication. When American technology and security updates are not available, it?s easier for authoritarian governments to deploy malware (for example, masquerading as secure tools or updates) so that they can get access to a user?s machine. Last year researchers discovered that a version of anti-censorship software used by many Iranians to bypass government filters was circulating with a malicious backdoor. But accessing a user?s machine is not the end of the story. Dlshad Othman, a computer technician who fled Syria in fear of being arrested, told Bloomberg News last year that he knows of at least two activists who were killed after their computers were compromised. Of course, American-made technology can be hacked as well. But without access to U.S. products, citizens can be forced to rely on alternative services from other countries that are less protective of human rights and makes them even more vulnerable to surveillance and censorship.

Congress is currently gearing up for a new round of sanctions legislation to increase pressure on the regime in anticipation of the upcoming transition of power in Iran. Much of the conversation revolves around inhibiting financial transactions and nuclear weapons capability. But information and communications technology are also a key piece of the strategy to put pressure on the regime. Wednesday?s announcement that the administration intends to take further steps to sharpen the restrictions and which consumer communications technologies are allowed is a step in the right direction. Sanctions are supposed to put pressure on governments to change their behavior?not hamper human rights.

This article arises from Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and?Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, visit the?Future Tense blog?and the?Future Tense home page. You can also?follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/05/confusing_sanctions_are_keeping_important_technologies_from_iranian_activists.html

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Premier Li says China, Germany could be economic 'dream team'

By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - China is ready to open up new sectors of its economy to German investors, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday, in comments that highlight Beijing's drive for a special bilateral partnership with Berlin bypassing the EU.

"If we both come together in an ideal and optimal way, a dream team will emerge," Li told representatives of German business during a visit to Berlin, his first to a European Union capital since becoming premier in March.

Li urged closer cooperation in manufacturing - an area where German firms increasingly see China as a competitor as it moves up the value chain - and he singled out logistics, education and healthcare as sectors for German investment.

"China is willing to open up this space preferentially to Germany," said Li, an economist, without elaborating.

The European Commission in Brussels oversees EU trade ties with third countries and it was unclear how far Beijing could offer Berlin special access to markets denied to other member states, but Li's comments underscored the importance of China and Germany, the world's top two exporters, to each other.

Bilateral trade totaled nearly 150 billion euros in 2011 and Germany accounts for about a third of China's total trade with the 27-nation EU.

Germany produces the high-quality machinery and equipment that Chinese companies need to manufacture their goods, many of which end up back in Germany. China is a giant market for German luxury cars and state-of-the-art machinery, while Chinese exports to Germany include textiles, electrical goods and toys.

Underlining the importance of this economic relationship, Germany along with a number of other EU governments came out on Monday against the European Commission's plan to impose hefty duties on solar panel imports from China.

Brussels accuses Chinese firms of selling solar panels at below cost in Europe and plans to impose duties, making it far harder for China to gain market share.

German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said after talks with Li there was "no need for more sanctions measures", echoing Chancellor Angela Merkel who had stressed Berlin's commitment to free trade during her own meeting with the premier on Sunday.

Merkel, who faces an election in September, is keen to avoid trade tensions with China, the world's second biggest economy. China has proven a valuable alternative market for German companies during the euro zone debt crisis, which has badly dented demand in their more traditional markets nearer to home.

Li also told Roesler China was determined to tackle intellectual property theft, a longstanding concern among Western investors, adding: "This also harms the innovation and motivation of Chinese firms."

The chief executive of industrial giant Siemens, Peter Loescher, said direct Chinese investment into Germany was still far too low at 1.2 billion euros against some 35 billion euros worth of German direct investment in China.

(Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/premier-li-says-china-germany-could-economic-dream-194616609.html

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Types of Animals With Photos | Latest Exclusive Animal and Pets ...

Draw a smile of jokes and pictures of the finest animals and types of Animals with behavior.

Always what we need to comfort, laugh and party jokes and see what is new about the world of animals and types of culture and laugh and break the boredom and to you what is good about the world of animals.
Check lists and fact sheets on the species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates in our group.

Broadly, Scientists have classified animals into 2 categories :
? Vertebrates (animals with backbones)
? Invertebrates (animals while not backbones)
Every animal of the planet belongs to at least one of them.

Vertebrates

The 5 most documented categories of vertebrates square measure mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians. they?re all a part of the phylum chordate.

Mammals

People square measure mammals. thus square measure dogs, cats, horses, duckbill platypuses, kangaroos, dolphins and whales. If Associate in Nursing animal drinks milk once it?s a baby and has hair on its body, it belongs to the vertebrate category. Dog , Coyote , Polar Bear , Elephant , Giraffe , Camel , Dolphin , lamia buggy , Horse , Fox

Birds

Birds square measure animals that have feathers which square measure born out of hard-shelled eggs. Some folks assume that what makes Associate in Nursing animal a bird is its wings. buggy have wings. Flies have wings. buggy and flies aren?t birds. the reality is that it?s the feathers UN agency makes Associate in Nursing animal a bird and not wings. All birds have feathers and birds square measure the sole animals that do. The feathers on a bird?s wings and tail overlap. as a result of they overlap, the feathers catch and hold the air. This helps the bird to fly, steer itself and land. Crow , Peafowl , Birds , Duck , Owl , Pigeon , Flamingo , Woodpecker , Ostrich , Sparrow , Chicken

Fish

Fish square measure vertebrates that sleep in water and have gills, scales and fins on their body. There square measure lots of various fish and lots of of them look terribly odd so. There square measure blind fish, fish with noses like elphants, fish that shoot down passing bugs with a stream of water and even fish that crawl toward land and hop about! Fishes

Reptiles

Reptiles square measure a category of animal with scaly skin. {they square measure|they?re} cold full-blooded and are born toward land. Snakes, lizards, crocodiles, alligators and turtles all belong to the craniate category. Reptiles , Crocodile , Chameleon , Tortoise , Turtle

Amphibians

Amphibians square measure born within the water. after they square measure born, they breath with gills sort of a fish. however after they mature, they develop lungs and might carry on land. Frog

Invertebrates

There are lots of animals while not backbones. These square measure known as invertebrates and square measure a part of the phylum (arthropods). 2 of the foremost ordinarily better-known categories during this phylum square measure arachnids (spiders) and insects.

Arthropods

Arthropods could be a large phylum of animals ? it includes eleven animal classes: class Merostomata, animal order, Arachnida, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, subclass Branchiopoda, Maxillopoda, Malacostraca, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, and class Insecta.

Any animals that have quite four, articulate legs square measure arthropods. Insects, spiders and crustaceans all belong to the present category of animals. Insects , Spider , Grasshoppers , mantid , Dragonfly , Butterfly , Bees

Some additional categories of Animals

Cannibals

A savage is Associate in Nursing animal that feeds on others of its own species. this can be not Associate in Nursing animal unnatural characteristics: around one hundred forty totally different species show savage tendencies beneath varied conditions. pattern is most typical among lower vertebrates and invertebrates usually as a result of a creature misinterpretation one in every of its own kind for prey. however it conjointly happens among birds and mammals, particularly once food is scarce.

In sexual pattern as recorded for instance for the feminine red-back spider, spider spider, mantid, and scorpion the feminine fare the male once sex activity (though the frequency of this can be often overstated).

The additional common type of pattern is size structured pattern, within which massive people consume smaller ones. Such size structured pattern has ordinarily been determined within the wild for a range of taxa, as well as octopus, bats, toads, fish, monitor lizards, red-backed salamanders and a number of other stream salamanders, crocodiles, spiders, crustaceans, birds (crows, barred owls), mammals, and a colossal variety of insects, like dragonflies, diving beetles, back swimmers, water striders, flour beetles, caddisflies and lots of additional.

Carnivores

A carnivore which means ?meat eater? is Associate in Nursing animal with a diet consisting primarily of meat, whether or not it comes from animals living or dead (scavenging). Some animals square measure thought of carnivores notwithstanding their diets contain little meat however involve preying on alternative animals Animals that survive on a diet consisting solely of meat square measure mentioned as obligate carnivores. Plants that capture and digest insects square measure known as carnivorous plants. equally fungi that capture microscopic animals square measure usually known as carnivorous fungi.

Cat , Tiger , Cheetah , Lion , Brown Bears , Penguin , Sharks , Snake

Herbivores

A creature is any organism that usually consumes solely autotrophs like plants, alga and photosynthesizing microorganism.

Gorilla , Orangutan , Monkey , Panda , even-toed ungulate , Rhinocerose , Kangaroo

Omnivores

Omnivores square measure the animals UN agency eat and digest each animals and plants. they?re primary and high level customers. Humans square measure omnivorous? as they take vegetables and meat. It embrace fish, humans, greyhound dog, pig, bear, rodents, Opossums, Raccoons, Foxes, Rails, Rhea, Most gulls, Chickens, Crows, Domestic pigeons. Squirrel , Chimpanzee , Pig

Detritivores

Detritivores (also referred to as saprophages, detrivores or detritus feeders) square measure organisms that recycle detritus (decomposing organic material), returning it into the organic phenomenon. Earthworms square measure a widely known example of detritus feeders, ingestion putrefaction plant leaves and alternative rubbish. teams of detritivorous animals include: millipedes, woodlice, dung beetles, dung flies and hiding beetles.

Scavengers

The word scavenger, in zoology, refers to animals that consume already dead organic life-forms. Scavengers square measure helpful to the scheme by feeding on and thus breaking down beast and plant remains. The remains that square measure left behind by the scavengers square measure then used even more by decomposers. documented scavengers embrace vultures, hiding beetles, blowflies, and raccoons. several massive carnivores that hunt regularly?such as hyenas and lions?will scavenge if given the possibility.

Photos of Animals

Tags:?Amazing Animals Background, Amazing Animals Wallpapers, amphibians, animal, Animals Themes, Animals Wallpapers, birds, fish, fish and invertebrates, images, Invertebrates (animals while not backbones), kinds, Mammals, photos, reptiles, types, types of animals, types of pets, Vertebrates (animals with backbones), videos, Wallpapers

Source: http://pets.withzoo.com/2013/05/types-of-animals-with-photos/

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