BT buys ESPN UK and Ireland, waves goodbye to ESPN Classic

BT's got far more important things to do than fill in the gaps in its fiber broadband coverage, like blowing around £10 million ($15 million) on buying ESPN's UK and Ireland channels from Disney. BT is trying to compete with Sky on sporting rights, and needs a channel to broadcast 38 Premier League games a year for the next three years -- which cost the phone company £738 million ($1.1 billion). At the same time, ESPN is shuttering ESPN Classic, the satellite channel dedicated to showing classic sporting events free of charge. Broadly speaking, BT just knows how to brighten our Mondays.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: The Guardian

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/bt-buys-espn-uk-and-ireland/

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Workers' Comp Overhaul Hailed By Oklahoma GOP Leaders ...

',
calendar:'',
week:'{week}', dayClickable:'{date}', dayCurrent:'{date}', dayNone:'', day:'{date}', search:'' }, // Stored objects $container = $(loc), now = new Date(), current = now, minDate = new Date('12/5/2007'), station = wng_pageInfo.affiliateName||'kotv', months = ['January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September', 'October', 'November', 'December'], monthLengths = [31, 28, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31], // Helper methods renderTemplate = function(tpl, vars) { var retVal = templates[tpl]; if (typeof(retVal) === 'string') { for (var i in vars) { var regEx = new RegExp('\{' + i + '\}', 'g'); retVal = retVal.replace(regEx, vars[i]); } } else { retVal = null; } return retVal; }, // Renderers makeCalendar = function(date) { // Copy the date to a new object (so as not to overwrite the original) and set us to the beginning of the month date = new Date(date); date.setDate(1); current = date; var month = date.getMonth(), year = date.getFullYear(), firstDay = date.getDay(), out = '', days = '', colCount = 0, monthLength = monthLengths[month] + (month == 1 && year % 4 == 0 ? 2 : 1); // Figure up the month length taking into consideration leap years. Not accurate to 100+ years // Render the days before the start of the month if necessary for (var i = 0; i = minDate) { tpl = 'dayClickable'; } days += renderTemplate(tpl, {date:i}); colCount++; if (colCount % 7 == 0) { out += renderTemplate('week', {week:days}); days = ''; } } // Tack on the last week if (days != '') { out += renderTemplate('week', {week:days}); } // Render to the DOM out = renderTemplate('calendar', {days:out}); out = renderTemplate('controls', {month:months[month], year:year}) + out + templates.search; $container.html(out); // Determine whether the previous/next buttons should be shown date.setDate(1); if (date 12) { month = 1; year++; } makeCalendar(new Date(month + '/1/' + year)); } }, // Init init = function() { $container.addClass('gnmCalendar'); makeCalendar(now); }; init(); };

Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/21319455/workers-comp-overhaul-hailed-by-oklahoma-gop-leaders

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Dubai officials block Bahrain-based AP journalist

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? Two Bahrain-based journalists, including a reporter for The Associated Press, were blocked from entering the United Arab Emirates on Monday under apparent new restrictions by Gulf Arab states.

Reem Khalifa and her husband, Mansoor al-Jamri, chief editor for Bahrain's independent Al Wasat newspaper, said they were told by authorities at Dubai International Airport that they were on a list to deny entry.

No further explanations were immediately given, but it appears part of tighter coordination between Gulf allies to control and monitor journalists, activists and others in the region.

Like all Gulf partners, the UAE has expanded crackdowns on perceived political dissent since the Arab Spring, including charging 94 people last month with conspiring to overthrow the ruling system. But it still remains among the most open countries in the Gulf for journalists, researchers and scholars.

Bahrain's 2-year-old uprising is a critical issue for Gulf leaders, who want to safeguard the ruling families across the region.

Khalifa and her husband ? on a private visit to Dubai ? closely cover Bahrain's struggles between majority Shiites and the Sunni rulers in the strategic kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Khalifa had visited Dubai last year without incident. Al-Jamri was among the winners in 2011 of the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

A senior UAE official said airport immigration issues fall under Dubai police, which had no immediate comment. Bahrainis and other citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council ? as well as many Western passport holders ? can enter the UAE without a pre-arranged visa.

Bahrain, however, has imposed a special journalist visa that has sharply limited outside media access to the country.

Last week, the UAE also denied entry to a prominent academic from the London School of Economics who was scheduled to speak about Bahrain at a conference on the Arab Spring.

The UAE's Foreign Ministry said Monday that Kristian Coates Ulrichsen was not allowed into the country because his work has been critical of Bahrain's monarchy, which is closely backed by other Gulf leaders. The UAE said "non-constructive" views on Bahrain are unwelcome.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dubai-officials-block-bahrain-based-ap-journalist-162433287.html

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Invasive mussels threaten Shipwreck Alley

Steve Sellers / NOAA, Thunder Bay NMS

The Cornelia B. Windiate is a wooden schooner that went missing in December 1875 and was discovered in 1987 in Thunder Bay in excellent condition. With no survivors or witnesses, the wheat-carrying ship's sinking remains a mystery, although weather was likely a factor, according to NOAA. The ship rests almost 200 feet underwater.

By Megan Gannon
LiveScience

Known as Shipwreck Alley, Thunder Bay in northwest Lake Huron presents a forbidding scene for boaters and captains but a wonder for divers and marine archaeologists. Its chilly bottom is dotted with dozens of wrecks, from 19th-century schooners to passenger-carrying steamboats to steel-moving freighters that have fallen prey to the bay's unpredictable weather and dangerous shoals.

More than 50 of these historic hulks are protected by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which was created in 2000 and covers 448 square miles (1,160 square kilometers) off the northeast coast of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Though most are in relatively good shape, thanks to the wreck-friendly freshwater environment of Lake Huron, a new report released by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finds the sunken ships might be threatened by a tiny menace: invasive mussels.

A few decades ago, zebra and quagga mussels were introduced to the Great Lakes, likely by ocean-going vessels from Europe dumping ballast water. Researchers believe the mollusks' quick domination of lake-bottoms in the region has contributed to the recent decline of some native species, such as the commercially valuable whitefish. (It's thought that the mussels, through competition, have depleted populations of the shrimplike Diporeia, which is an important part of the whitefish's diet.)

Left: Stan Stock; right: NOAA Thunder Bay NMS

Taken just five years apart, these two photos show how quickly quagga mussels have spread over the schooner Kyle Spangler, which sank in Thunder Bay in 1860. The image at left was taken in 2003 and the one at right is from 2008.

The mussels also stubbornly attach to hard surfaces such as boat hulls, engines, docks, buoys, pipelines and shipwrecks. Layers of mussels several inches thick could make it difficult for marine archaeologists to get accurate measurements and study a shipwreck, but brushing off the little creatures could tear off delicate sections of sunken wood, according to NOAA. Additionally, pieces of wrecks could break off on their own, under the weight of heavy mussel build-ups.

"The weight of mussels has been known to sink submerged buoys, and similar forces are surely at play on shipwreck sites," the report says.

It's not just the wooden pieces that are at risk. Previous research has found that mussel colonies on steel surfaces can introduce a complex community of bacteria that lowers pH levels (the lower the pH the more acidic a solution is) and speeds up the corrosion of iron fasteners and fittings on shipwrecks. [ See Photos of Shipwreck Alley's Sunken Treasures ]

"Since many of the wooden ships in the Thunder Bay sanctuary are primarily iron and steel fastened, the structural integrity of these resources could potentially be compromised," the report says.

To be sure, the report authors note that so far, the mussels do not yet appear to have seriously reduced the historical, archaeological or educational value of the wrecks, but the layers of invasive mussels obscure information about the sites and make scientific study more difficult. The mussels also may be causing long-lasting damage, but since shipwrecks by nature are in a state of deterioration, it's tough determine how much of that wear can be attributed to mussels.

NOAA is currently weighing an expansion of the sanctuary, which would make it stretch over 4,300 square miles (11,136 square km) and cover 92 known historic shipwrecks, with possibly 100 additional sites that have yet to be properly documented. The purpose of the sanctuary is to foster public awareness about the region's maritime heritage and help protect the sites from artifact looting and other negative human impacts through law enforcement and scientific research. Part of this research includes a mussel monitoring initiative in Thunder Bay, which was launched last year by researchers from NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Lab.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook? and Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17089910-invasive-mussels-threaten-shipwreck-alley?lite

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American troops in Niger to set up drone base

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/02/ap-niger-drone-base-africa-022313/

Julie Pace and Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 23, 2013 14:41:25 EST

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials said the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.

Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."

The move marks a deepening of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the volatile region. It also underscores Obama's desire to fight extremism without involving large numbers of U.S. ground forces.

The drone base will allow the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants its forces have been fighting in Mali, which neighbors Niger. Over time, it could extend the reach not only of American intelligence-gathering but also U.S. special operations missions to strengthen Niger's own security forces.

One of the two U.S. defense officials who discussed the development confirmed the American troops would fly drones and other surveillance platforms from Niger military airstrips, tracking militant and refugee movement inside Mali and around the border. The U.S. will share that intelligence with Niger's military, the official said.

Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the project.

The drones at the Niger base will be unarmed and used for surveillance, not airstrikes. Still, the development of a base in Niger raises the possibility that it could eventually be used for launching strikes.

Obama said in his letter to Congress that the U.S. forces have been deployed with the consent of Niger's government. The forces were also deployed with weapons "for their own force protection and security," the president said.

Last month, the U.S. and Niger signed a status-of-forces-agreement spelling out legal protections and obligations of American forces that might operate in Niger in the future.

Africa is increasingly a focus of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, even as al-Qaida remains a threat in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Last month's terrorist attack on a natural gas complex in Algeria, in which at least 37 hostages and 29 militants were killed, illustrated the threat posed by extremists who have asserted power propelled by long-simmering ethnic tensions in Mali and the revolution in Libya.

A number of al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist groups operate in Mali and elsewhere in the Sahara, including a group known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which originated in Algeria and is active in northern Mali. Last month, French forces intervened to stop the extremists' move toward Mali's capital, and Washington has grown more involved by providing a variety of military support to French troops.

France has said it will eventually pull out of its Mali operation so that African forces can help stabilize the West African country.

AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Videos You May Be Interested In

Source: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/02/ap-niger-drone-base-africa-022313/

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Williams leads No. 16 Lobos past No. 22 Rams 91-82

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) ? Kendall Williams sank a Mountain West Conference record 10 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 46 points and No. 16 New Mexico ended No. 22 Colorado State's 27-game home-court winning streak 91-82 Saturday.

Alex Kirk added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos (23-4, 10-2), increased their lead in the conference race to two games over the Rams (21-5, 8-4).

Colton Iverson had 26 points and 15 boards for the Rams, who looked like they were going to move into a first-place tie atop the standings after taking a 70-64 lead at the 6-minute mark.

Williams, who had been on the bench with four fouls, returned and hit three 3s during a 14-2 run that gave New Mexico a 78-72 lead.

His 10 3-pointers broke the conference mark of nine set by several players, most recently UNLV's Chace Stanback against Central Arkansas on Dec. 28, 2011.

Williams' previous career best was 24 points against Indiana State and New Mexico State earlier this season.

Wes Eikmeier added 22 points for the Rams and Dorian Green had 20. Eikmeier scored 11 straight at one point as Colorado State built a 55-50 lead early in the second half.

The Lobos quieted the crowd with a 12-6 run to regain the lead at 62-61, but Williams was whistled for his fourth foul and took a seat at the nine-minute mark.

He returned with the Lobos down 70-64 and sparked the comeback.

The Rams were coming off a two-point loss at UNLV on Wednesday night that snapped their six-game winning streak that began after a 66-61 loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque last month.

The Rams' last loss at home was Nov. 11, 2012, to Southern Miss, which was coached by Larry Eustachy, who is in his first season as Colorado State's coach.

Colorado State's 27-game home winning streak was the third-longest in the nation.

Williams scored 20 points in the first half, when he made five 3-pointers, and Kirk scored 12 first-half points, but the Lobos trailed 41-38 at the break. The opening 20 minutes featured eight ties and nine lead changes.

Iverson, who had 13 first-half points for the Rams, picked up his second foul with just nine-tenths of a second left in the first half when he hammered Chad Adams on his way to the basket.

___

Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/williams-leads-no-16-lobos-past-no-22-232321870--spt.html

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USC remains a puzzle to UCLA coach Howland

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Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_22653354/usc-remains-puzzle-ucla-coach-howland?source=rss

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My #1 Tip For Writing Great Email Newsletters, Blog Posts ...

I never talk about my number one tip for anything because things change, I learn something new, and generally marketing is moving target so I have to stay nimble like a tiger.

But today, I am throwing down with my #1, all time, most important, never goes out of style tip for writing great email newsletters, crafting amazing blog posts, recording stunning videos and every other sort of marketing that you do. In fact, it is one of the main, evergreen tenants of good marketing theory and I don?t we are talking about it enough!

You are only talking to one person.

There, for you High D?s who are worried that this is going to take too long, I have just blurted it out, for the rest of you, follow along!

When we are crafting blog posts or email newsletters, oftentimes we are thinking about all the people who are reading, listening or generally going to consume our info. We use terms like, ?you all?, ?you guys? or ?everybody?. But think about it for a minute. Almost EVERY piece of content is being seen by just one person sitting at their computer or looking at it on their smart phone.

How To Go About Writing Great Email Newsletters, Articles or Blog Posts and Record Amazing Videos

Unlike ?the news? which really is made for mass consumption, your written words are going to be sent out via email or over the internet. There will not be a gang of people sitting in a room waiting to read your pearls of wisdom, there will only be one person clicking that link and reading your words.

The easiest way to write for one person is to get a real person (or two) in your head and write as if you are talking to them. In another post I did for our Marketing and Media Monsters site I wrote today about new age marketing, I was thinking of two gals, Andye Murphy and Regina Sisco. Some of the ideas were specific to each of their businesses and I got double the great tips out because each has a little different business.

Another thing to check when you are producing content is are you saying YOU more than you are saying I or WE. If you are saying ?we do this?, ?I am? or ?our tools? too much, your reader or listener will get grouchy and abandon all hope of you helping them! Howie Jacobson has my favorite saying, ?are you we?ing all over them?? (read it out loud, it is really funny!) This is a SUPER easy way to tell if you content is great.

Last but not least, my besty the Colorado Connector talks A LOT about the WIFM (what?s in it for me) Channel that people are always playing in their heads. If your content is all about me, what I do or how I can help them, they will go away. Every person wants to know that you like them, that you care about their problems and that you have the solution for solving those problems.

Seriously, just making sure that you are talking to one person will make a tremendous difference in how your marketing is received! Now, go look at your web pages, listen to your videos and check out your last couple of email newsletters. Do not beat yourself up, just start a list of what you need to fix and grind through it. Then, start writing as if you are talking to your friends or best clients. Write as if you are telling them something and watch the accolades roll in!

Source: http://marketingartfully.com/2013/02/21/my-1-tip-for-writing-great-email-newsletters-blog-posts-recording-videos-and-more/

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U.S. seeks to tackle trade-secret thieves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Faced with the growing theft of U.S. trade secrets, the White House said on Wednesday it was stepping up diplomatic pressure and mulling tougher laws to stem the threat to American businesses and security from China and other nations.

The plan includes working with like-minded governments to put pressure on bad actors, using trade policy tools, increasing criminal prosecutions and launching a 120-day review to see whether new U.S. legislation is needed.

"A hacker in China can acquire source code from a software company in Virginia without leaving his or her desk," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a White House event to unveil the strategy.

Although the White House report did not cite China by name, many see the Asian giant as the main threat. A study released this week by a private security firm accused the Chinese military of orchestrating numerous cyber attacks against U.S. businesses, a charge Beijing has denied.

The Obama administration said its strategy aims to counter what Holder called "a significant and steadily increasing threat to America's economy and national security interests."

"As new technology has torn down traditional barriers to international business and global commerce, they also make it easier for criminals to steal secrets and to do so from anywhere, anywhere in the world," Holder said.

Last week, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said U.S. companies suffered estimated losses in 2012 of more than $300 billion due to theft of trade secrets, a large share due to Chinese cyber espionage.

The White House report listed 17 cases of trade-secret theft by Chinese companies or individuals since 2010, far more than any other country mentioned in the report.

U.S. corporate victims of trade-secret theft have included General Motors, Ford, DuPont, Dow Chemical, Motorola, Boeing and Cargill. A target company can see the payoff from research investment evaporate as a result of corporate espionage and lose market position, competitive advantage and efficiencies.

"We have repeatedly raised our concerns about trade-secret theft by any means at the highest levels with senior Chinese officials and we will continue to do so," said Robert Hormats, an undersecretary of state.

Those cases cited mostly involved employees stealing trade secrets on the job rather than cyber attacks.

Victoria Espinel, the White House intellectual property rights enforcement coordinator, said the effort aims to protect the innovation that drives the U.S. economy and job creation.

MIXED RESPONSE

Cybersecurity and intelligence experts welcomed the White House plan as a first step, but some said much more needed to be done.

"You've got a nation-state taking on private corporations," said former CIA Director Michael Hayden. "That's kind of unprecedented ... We have not approached resolution with this at all."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobby, offered a lukewarm statement of support, while other industry groups expressed more enthusiasm for the effort.

"We strongly endorse and applaud the administration's focus on curbing theft of trade secrets, which poses a serious and growing threat to the software industry around the world," said Business Software Alliance President and CEO Robert Holleyman.

The report that laid out the strategy repeated a 2011 White House recommendation that the maximum sentence for economic espionage be increased to at least 20 years, from 15 currently.

Another part of the solution is promoting a set of "best practices" that companies can use to protect themselves against cyber attacks and other espionage, Espinel said.

The report also said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was "expanding its efforts to fight computer intrusions that involve the theft of trade secrets by individual, corporate and nation-state cyber hackers."

In an interview, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the problem of trade-secret theft in China was a factor in the decisions of some U.S. companies to move operations back to the United States.

The companies have "had very frank conversations with the Chinese, (saying) 'You know it's one thing to accept a certain level of copyright knock-offs, but if you're going to take our core technology, then we're better off being in our home country,'" Kirk told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Deborah Charles; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-seeks-tackle-trade-secret-theft-china-others-004633520.html

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There s an App for That: Policy and Technological Advances in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Disclaimer: I have no financial ties to the products or services I discuss. The goal of this article is twofold: I aim to (1) educate you as a healthcare consumer about a policy change that will improve your access to preventative cardiology, and (2) discuss ways that technology can help facilitate your own health behavior change. The strategies and technologies I mention represent a tiny snapshot of all available options. I encourage you to explore what's out there to find what works best for you. Many of us understand the various health behaviors that promote overall well-being. Physicians, researchers, and the general public are beginning to recognize the value in preventative medicine, though implementing such practices typically seems out of reach. Now, thanks to a new Medicare code and widely available smartphone apps, we can see a move towards preventing cardiovascular disease both in upcoming visits with our primary care physicians and in our daily lives. As a graduate student in clinical health psychology researching cardiovascular behavioral medicine, I spend a great deal of time performing assessments on individuals with cardiovascular disease and, more specifically, heart failure. Extensive self-management rules burden these patients with uncomfortable, challenging, and time-consuming guidelines. These include, but are not limited to dietary and fluid intake restrictions, weight management, complex medical regimens, frequent doctors appointments, and exercise guidelines. Most do not suffer from cardiovascular disease alone; many are hypertensive, have diabetes, are obese, and experience mild to moderate cognitive impairment that cumulatively degrades their quality of life. Although most understood the factors that promote health prior to developing cardiovascular disease (e.g., healthy BMI, diet low in saturated fats and sugars, regular physical activity, maintenance of normal-range blood pressure), few, if any, had guidelines tailored and explained to them by a health care professional before developing this chronic, life-threatening, burdensome illness. Primary care physicians and staff can use a Medicare billing code (G0446) to tailor cardiovascular disease prevention recommendations to their patients in fifteen-minute counseling sessions once every year before, during, or after an annual wellness visit. To use this code, the sessions must cover blood pressure screening, appropriate daily aspirin use (when clinically indicated), and techniques to adopt a heart-healthy diet. This counseling can help prevent numerous forms of or contributors to cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction (i.e., heart attack), heart failure, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. This development uses recent literature asserting that brief counseling from providers can effectively improve health behaviors, and brief health-related counseling has demonstrated significant impacts on dietary intake and smoking cessation. Three institutes in Cleveland, Ohio (University Hospitals Health System, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, The Center of Excellence in Self-Management Research at the School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, and Better Health Greater Cleveland) received a grant from the Ohio Partnership for Adherence through Collaborative Education to help educate health care providers about these new counseling options. Drs. Richard Josephson, Shirley Moore, Mary Dolansky, and Vanessa Maier, all from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University, spearheaded this project. You can check out their work at COUNSEL2preventCVD.org. The website includes FAQs for providers, a patient education materials toolkit, a presentation for providers, and general information about the project. Additionally, there is a great chance that your provider is unaware of this opportunity. I highly recommend presenting the billing code information--and perhaps even this article--to your physician at your next wellness visit. Whether or not you receive Medicare, you can inform your physician that you want to take a proactive preventative approach to the nation's #1 killer: cardiovascular disease. I encourage you to advocate for the care you want and to find a physician who will collaborate with you in promoting health and preventing disease. One key to improving health behaviors is self-monitoring, as it is nearly impossible to target a behavioral pattern if you cannot adequately describe it. This is an excellent opportunity to incorporate mHealth technology such as online trackers or smartphone behavior-tracking apps. Popular apps can measure dietary intake, exercise, smoking, and medication adherence. One way to help extend behavior change past these fifteen minutes of preventative counseling is to introduce convenient tools for self-monitoring, like mHealth trackers. It is difficult to change our behavior, but technology can help us a great deal to do so. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrated that apps can help individuals lose weight when used in a comprehensive strategy, according to a clinical trial conducted at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. The research suggested that individuals are better able to change their behavior as they gain access to more tools. If you do not want to wait until your next physician's appointment to evaluate and potentially change your cardiovascular health habits, then consider my top five tips and apps: 1. Stop smoking. Smoking cessation is one of the greatest changes that you can make to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular or other life-shortening disease. Although the idea of quitting "cold turkey" is popular, many people find that formal support via smoking cessation classes and prescription medication can help them quit and stay free of tobacco long-term. LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach - Dare to Quit Smoking is an app that will create your personalized quitting plan and helps you make attainable goals along the way. 2. Get moving. Physical activity is any sort of moving around (e.g., vacuuming, shoveling snow, walking up the stairs), while exercise is structured physical activity (e.g., lifting weights, running a mile, taking a fitness class). Both physical activity and exercise can improve your health and mood. If you think that you lack the time or money to join a gym, consider taking the stairs at work, finding a parking spot farthest away from your destination, taking a walk after meals, or picking up some cheap free weights to lift while watching TV. I personally enjoy using a weighted hula hoop, bouncing on an exercise ball, stretching, and using free weights during quick frequent breaks from work throughout my day. For challenging free workouts, check out the Nike Training Club. 3. Monitor your diet. Try monitoring your dietary intake with a smartphone app or online tracker. Use technology to your advantage in your own self-monitoring adventures. Many popular apps provide comprehensive free versions that can track your intake and provide daily breakdowns of what you are eating. You can track your weight using age- and activity-sensitive caloric goals, and you can receive support from others who are also trying to adopt healthier habits. Try the Calorie and Diet Tracker from MyFitnessPal. 4. Curb your sodium use. Foods that are high in sodium include pickles, cold cuts, canned soups, frozen meals, cured meats, and even packaged cookies. Always use minimal salt when you cook--you can always add more later--and be sure to taste your food before adding additional table salt. I recommend using no more than a "pinch"--literally!--of salt whenever you want to do so. When you use a salt shaker, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to monitor how much salt you are using. Cutting down on processed foods can also reduce your salt intake. My ultimate suggestion for reducing the need for salt is to use more fresh herbs and spices in your cooking, as their added flavor will replace the need for excessive salt. Sodium 101 has numerous helpful features including a sodium tracker, comparisons of sodium content in takeout food, and even a simulated salt shaker that helps you determine how much salt you are adding to your food. 5. Shop smart. Lastly, limit your time in the middle aisles of the grocery store to 10% of the time you spend shopping. I challenge you to consider what you find there: processed, fatty, sugary, salty foods. Obviously, many of these foods are fine in moderation. But if you concentrate your time in the grocery store on the store's perimeter, you will mostly find fresh produce, seafood, meat, tofu, dairy, and frozen items such as frozen fruits and vegetables. While in the center aisles, consider picking up beans and legumes, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, almond butter, and fresh whole wheat bread. Eat these in moderation as part of a heart healthy diet. Fooducate is an app that can be used to help you make good food choices in the grocery store as you shop. Most individuals with whom I have worked are no longer candidates for preventative measures that I have outlined. They are already faced with the burden of attempting to self-manage a cumbersome illness that will likely contribute to their deaths. However, whether someone has already been diagnosed with a chronic illness or exhibits only a single risk factor, health behavior change is possible with adequate support from physicians and loved ones, with knowledge about problematic health behaviors, and most importantly with the motivation to contemplate whether the benefits of change ultimately outweigh the cost of maintaining problematic behavior. I hope you will find that small changes are not only possible, but also will motivate you to take action to improve your present and future health. Image credit: Carly Goldstein Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/app-policy-technological-advances-prevention-cardiovascular-disease-125100614.html

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myIDkey biometric password flash drive hits Kickstarter

Is it possible to remember all of one's passwords without the aid of a biometric Bluetooth flash drive? Possible, sure, but it's certainly getting harder and harder as the number of services we depend on continues to increase exponentially. Arkami has been floating its solution around for a bit, showing off its progress at CES and the like, and now the company is ready to get the public involved (or, the public's money, rather) by way of a newly opened Kickstarter campaign for myIDkey. The thumb drive stores passwords across various services, letting you take 'em on the run. There's a fingerprint scanner on-board, which unlocks the device, and a microphone, which lets you search for specific ones by voice. Plug the drive into your PC and it will autofill your passwords as needed, and if you're unlucky enough to lose it, you can instantly deactivate its contents.

Peep the source link below to check out -- and, perhaps, support -- the company's $150,000 campaign.

Filed under: Peripherals, Internet

Comments

Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pGk3ZEAkgT8/

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U.S. judge accepts BP collected 810,000 barrels in spill

LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that BP Plc recovered 810,000 barrels of oil from its 2010 spill site and that this amount should be excluded from certain penalties it may face, cutting its maximum fine by as much as $3.5 billion.

Just days before he presides over a spill-related civil trial due to start on February 25 in New Orleans, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier deemed those barrels as 'collected' during the spill. BP had sought this reduction in the penalty-relevant total more than a month ago.

"The 'Collected Oil' flowed from the subsurface reservoir, through the well, through the blow-out preventer, and never came into contact with any ambient sea water, and was not released to the environment in any way," the ruling said.

Earlier, the British oil company said the U.S. Department of Justice backed its assertion that the oil recovered directly from the leaking Macondo well should not count when it comes to fines that could be levied under the U.S. Clean Water Act.

"Under the Clean Water Act, civil penalties are assessed only on oil that has actually entered the environment and potentially caused harm," BP said in a statement on Tuesday.

BP also repeated that the total 4.9 million spilt barrels estimate made by the U.S. government in its claim against BP, including barrels recovered, was too high by 20 percent.

The maximum fine payable under the act is $4,300 per barrel, so a calculation based on 4.9 million barrels spilt would have forced BP to pay as much as $21 billion under the Clean Water Act, on top of any other fines and penalties, if BP was found guilty of "gross negligence."

Without the gross negligence finding, the fine could be up to $1,100 per barrel - or $5.4 billion - so that potential fine was cut by nearly $900 million with the ruling on Tuesday.

Separately, Barbier signed on Tuesday a $1 billion civil settlement between the U.S. government and Transocean related to the spill, which had been struck last month. Transocean's Deepwater Horizon rig was destroyed in the blowout.

The overall civil case under Barbier is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, No. 10-md-02179, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana.

(Reporting by Andrew Callus in London and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters and Richard Pullin)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-judge-accepts-bp-collected-810-000-barrels-051208086--finance.html

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Cardinal Dolan Questioned on Sex Abuse Before Trip to Rome

Next week, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be enjoying the comforts of Rome as part of the conclave that will choose the next pope, which could even be him, although his chances are considered slim. But first, the ugly stuff: Dolan was deposed for three hours yesterday about sexual abuse at the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which he led from 2002 to 2009, where 575 people have filed claims against the church over the years. As the archdiocese attempts to file bankruptcy, lawyers for the victims want to know what Dolan knew and when.

"Today Cardinal Dolan had the long-awaited opportunity to talk about his decision nine years ago in Milwaukee to publicize the names of priests who had abused children and how he responded to the tragedy of past clergy sexual abuse of minors, during the time he was privileged to serve as Archbishop of Milwaukee," said an Archdiocese of New York spokesperson in a statement. "He has indicated over the past two years that he was eager to cooperate in whatever way he could."

An attorney for the plaintiffs sees it another way: "The deposition of Cardinal Dolan is necessary to show that there?s been a longstanding pattern and practice to keep secrets and keep the survivors from knowing that there had been a fraud committed," he told the New York Times. A representative for the victims' group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests argued that Dolan "did a lot of creative maneuvering of priest sex offenders and creative accounting of church money," as previously reported, without punishing those responsible.

While Dolan's exact answers from yesterday are not yet known, the Survivors' Network plans to make his testimony public. Whether that will affect his distant chances to become pope, only the conclave really knows.

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/timothy-dolan-deposed-on-milwaukee-sex-abuse.html

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Mobile Commerce App PayDragon Launches A Redesign To Make One-Click Shopping Even Easier

Mobile commerce startup PayDragon wants to simplify the process of purchasing various grocery staples via your mobile phone. The company already has one-click purchasing and two-day shipping for products that can be ordered on its mobile apps. Now it’s redesigned its app to provide easier browsing of its inventory. PayDragon has always been focused on making mobile commerce easy. Coming out of Y Combinator-backed QR code company PaperLinks, PayDragon launched last year to provide a way for customers to place orders at food trucks and other local food vendors. Then the company pivoted a bit last September, announcing a new Checkout app that would allow users to purchase regular household items and have them shipped to their homes with just one click. PayDragon is making its Checkout functionality even easier with the latest relaunch of its app, which makes products searchable by category, as well as the most popular items and daily and weekly deals. The app still has individual item pages, which provides users with one-click purchasing. But whereas previous versions of the app were dependent on scanning QR and UPC bar codes or search to add items, the new version simplifies the process. By redesigning the app around different popular product categories, users can more easily find the stuff that they want, even if they don’t have an object to scan or forget the name of the product. And it also has a few sections for deals, where customers can purchase discounted products. As was the case in earlier versions of its app, there’s no shopping cart or payment confirmation page — once a customer has entered billing and shipping information, items they choose will be automatically billed for and shipped once the purchase button is hit. In addition to the new design, PayDragon has also improved its service on the back end. The company is now working with a fulfillment company to handle assembling items and shipping them to customers. While each purchase is billed individually, many users will purchase many items at once, or at least during the same day. PayDragon’s fulfillment center works to bundle items and ship them together. It also means that PayDragon gets better margins for its service. PayDragon has raised $1.35 million in seed funding from Rustic Canyon Partners, SV Angel, Yuri Milner, and Mark Schwartz.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ky_ZjxmX0eA/

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Sony unveils social-focused PlayStation 4

Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the Sony Playstation 4 speaks during an event to announce the new video game console, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the Sony Playstation 4 speaks during an event to announce the new video game console, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Andrew House speaks at an event to announce the Sony Playstation 4 Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the Sony Playstation 4 speaks during an event to announce the new video game console Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

David Perry, CEO of Gaikai, speaks during a news conference to announce the Sony Playstation 4 Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Yoshinori Ono, of Capcom, speaks during a news conference to announce the Sony Playstation 4 Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Sony is sharing the PlayStation 4 with the world.

The Japanese electronics giant unveiled the new gaming system Wednesday, hyping the machine as a "supercharged PC" with the ability to effortlessly share interactive experiences, by instantly broadcasting video of gaming action or virtually handing out health potions to friends online.

"Today marks a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation," said Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Sony said the system will feature an eight-core processor that can juggle more tasks than the PlayStation 3 and be part of a new digital ecosystem that's "the fastest, most powerful gaming network."

"Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero," said Mark Cerny, Sony's lead system architect on the PS4.

The PS4 is Sony's first major game machine since the PlayStation 3 went on sale in 2006. Wednesday's unveiling is Sony Corp.'s attempt to steal the spotlight from rivals Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co., at least until Microsoft unveils its next Xbox in June, as expected, at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles.

But one thing Sony neglected to do: show the actual device.

Instead, the two-hour event involved executives from Sony and its video game partners touting features and showing demonstration video on stage.

There was no word on price or availability, other than a flash on the screen saying "holiday 2013."

When the PlayStation 3 went on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 17, 2006, the 20 gigabyte model had a $500 price tag and the 60 GB version went for $600. They are now cheaper and come with more storage ? $270 for 250 GB and $300 for 500 GB. Comparable models of Nintendo's Wii U and Microsoft's Xbox 360 both start at $300.

Among the PS4's revisions is an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a "share" button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control.

Many of the new features revolve around social networking and remote access. With one button, you can broadcast video of your game play so friends can "look over your shoulder virtually," said David Perry, co-founder of the Sony-owned Internet game company Gaikai. With remote play, you can run a game on the PS4 to stream over the Internet to Sony's mobile gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, which debuted last year.

Sony is building the new system on top of a traditional PC architecture, instead of a custom design, to make it easier for computer programmers to write games. Games designed for PS3 won't work, Sony said.

Among the games that were unveiled for the PS4 on Wednesday were the realistic racing simulator "Drive Club," super-powered action sequel "Infamous: Second Son," artsy puzzler "The Witness" and first-person shooter "Killzone: Shadow Fall."

Last fall, Nintendo launched the next generation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. The controller allows two people playing the same game to have different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features.

The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us by the end of 2012. It was a disappointing start for the first of a new generation of gaming systems.

In some ways, notably its ability to display high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular games like "Call of Duty."

The PS4 is arriving amid declines in video game hardware, software and accessory sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. With the launch of the PS4, Sony is looking to attract audiences who may have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones.

All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, with paid subscriptions to those services. People will also be able to access Facebook.

Beyond games, the PlayStation 4 will let people create animation in 3-D using a Move motion controller ? all in real time.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-20-Sony-PlayStation/id-3ec74fb9e22f4d83bec4e5a8f70f1bb2

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A Banksy mural, lost in London, is found in Miami

North Londoners are furious over a missing Banksy mural that was torn off a building in the Wood Green neighborhood of the city and has since resurfaced online at Fine Art Auctions Miami.

The high-profile mural by the mysterious street artist, no stranger to publicity stunts, depicts a boy on his knees, hunched over a sewing machine and stitching Union Jack bunting. It went up last May on the wall of a Poundland department store in advance of June's Diamond Jubilee Celebration for Queen Elizabeth II, and according to the Guardian newspaper, it's considered a commentary on child labor.

The mural was a popular draw to the neighborhood, attracting locals and tourists alike. It is now titled "Banksy Slave Labor (Bunting Boy). London 2012" on the auction site, and listed for $500,000 to $700,000.

According to the auction house, which specializes in "important Russian, Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary works," the mural was put up for sale by a known collector, who Fine Art Auctions Miami owner Frederic Thut declined to name.

"The collector signed a contract saying everything was aboveboard," Thut told the Sun. Thut was "not available" for further comment, a harried auction-house associate said Tuesday afternoon, when several calls yielded a busy signal.

"Banksy Slave Labor" is one of two pieces by the artist seen in the catalog for an auction scheduled for Saturday, along with "Wet Dog," painted in Bethlehem and valued at $600,000 to $800,000.

Interest in "Banksy Slave Labor" was such that the auction house created a "blanket statement" for all media inquiries: "FAAM has done all the necessary due diligence to ensure the ownership of the work," it reads. "Unfortunately, we are not able to provide you with any information by law and contract about any details of any consignment. However, we are more than happy to do that if you can prove that the works were acquired and removed illegally."

"Wet Dog" was among five privately owned six-ton wall reliefs included in the CONTEXT Art Miami exhibit "Banksy: Out of Context" at Art Basel 2012. The catalog for that show acknowledged that showing site-specific street art outside of its original environment is "a very divisive issue within the art community."

Alan Strickland, a London councilman, urged his Twitter followers to email the auctioneers in protest. He tweeted: "Pls RT. Save our Banksy from sale. Let's all email art company auctioning it on info@faamiami.com. Tell them to withdraw it from auction."

In an interview with the BBC, Strickland said residents of the neighborhood are "shocked and really astonished."

"Banksy gave that piece of art to our community, and people came from all over London to see it," Strickland said.

Additional reporting by Ben Crandell.

Source: http://www.southflorida.com/sf-banksy-art-miami-auction-20130219,0,6898377.story?track=rss

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FreeBSD Security Advisory - BIND remote DoS with deliberately crafted DNS64 query (FreeBSD-SA-13:01.bind )

Risks

or

FreeBSD Security Advisory - BIND remote DoS with deliberately crafted DNS64 query (FreeBSD-SA-13:01.bind )

=============================================================================
 FreeBSD-SA-13:01.bind                                       Security Advisory
                                                           The FreeBSD Project
 
 Topic:          BIND remote DoS with deliberately crafted DNS64 query
 
 Category:       contrib
 Module:         bind
 Announced:      2013-02-19
 Affects:        FreeBSD 9.x and later
 Corrected:      2013-01-08 09:05:09 UTC (stable/9, 9.1-STABLE)
                 2013-02-19 13:27:20 UTC (releng/9.0, 9.0-RELEASE-p6)
                 2013-02-19 13:27:20 UTC (releng/9.1, 9.1-RELEASE-p1)
 CVE Name:       CVE-2012-5688
 
 For general information regarding FreeBSD Security Advisories,
 including descriptions of the fields above, security branches, and the
 following sections, please visit <URL:http://security.FreeBSD.org/>.
 
 I.   Background
 
 BIND 9 is an implementation of the Domain Name System (DNS) protocols.
 The named(8) daemon is an Internet Domain Name Server.
 
 DNS64 is an IPv6 transition mechanism that will return a synthesized
 AAAA response even if there is only an A record available.
 
 II.  Problem Description
 
 Due to a software defect a crafted query can cause named(8) to crash
 with an assertion failure.
 
 III. Impact
 
 If named(8) is configured to use DNS64, an attacker who can send it a
 query can cause named(8) to crash, resulting in a denial of service.
 
 IV.  Workaround
 
 No workaround is available, but systems not configured to use DNS64
 using the "dns64" configuration statement are not vulnerable.  DNS64
 is not enabled in the default configuration on FreeBSD.
 
 V.   Solution
 
 Perform one of the following:
 
 1) Upgrade your vulnerable system to a supported FreeBSD stable or
 release / security branch (releng) dated after the correction date.
 
 Restart the named(8) daemon, or reboot your system.
 
 2) To update your vulnerable system via a source code patch:
 
 The following patches have been verified to apply to the applicable
 FreeBSD release branches.
 
 a) Download the relevant patch from the location below, and verify the
 detached PGP signature using your PGP utility.
 
 # fetch http://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-13:01/bind.patch
 # fetch http://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-13:01/bind.patch.asc
 # gpg --verify bind.patch.asc
 
 b) Execute the following commands as root:
 
 # cd /usr/src
 # patch < /path/to/patch
 
 Recompile the operating system using buildworld and installworld as
 described in <URL:http://www.FreeBSD.org/handbook/makeworld.html>.
 
 Restart the named(8) daemon, or reboot your system.
 
 3) To update your vulnerable system via a binary patch:
 
 Systems running a RELEASE version of FreeBSD on the i386 or amd64
 platforms can be updated via the freebsd-update(8) utility:
 
 # freebsd-update fetch
 # freebsd-update install
 
 Restart the named(8) daemon, or reboot your system.
 
 4) Alternatively, install and run BIND from the Ports Collection after
 the correction date.  The following versions and newer versions of
 BIND installed from the Ports Collection are not affected by this
 vulnerability:
 
         bind98-9.8.4.1
         bind99-9.9.2.1
 
 VI.  Correction details
 
 The following list contains the revision numbers of each file that was
 corrected in FreeBSD.
 
 Branch/path                                                      Revision
 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 stable/9/                                                         r245163
 releng/9.0/                                                       r246989
 releng/9.1/                                                       r246989
 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 VII. References
 
 https://kb.isc.org/article/AA-00828
 
 http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-5688
 
 The latest revision of this advisory is available at
 http://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-13:01.bind.asc

Source: http://www.net-security.org/advisory.php?id=15490

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Sony looks back on PlayStation's past with an eye on its future (video)

If Sony doesn't announce the PS4 at Wednesday's blockbuster press conference, then this reminiscipackage will seem oddly out of place. The company has cut together three videos charting the history of the console from its (not so) humble beginnings in 1993 to the present day. If you'd like to wistfully remember the genesis of the console that's probably still lurking beneath your TV, head on past the break.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/18/sony-playstation-history/

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Diamond heist hits Swiss plane on Brussels tarmac

A gate is locked by a chain near to where men made a whole in a fence next to the tarmac at Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Police on Tuesday are looking for eight men who made a hole in a security fence of Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and robbed tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

A gate is locked by a chain near to where men made a whole in a fence next to the tarmac at Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Police on Tuesday are looking for eight men who made a hole in a security fence of Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and robbed tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Airport security officers stand near a fence that was cut next to the tarmac, at Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Police on Tuesday were looking for eight men who made a hole in a security fence of Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and robbed tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Workers place concrete blocks to block access to a security fence next to the tarmac, at Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Eight masked gunmen made a hole in a security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched some $50 million worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Baggage carts make their way past a Helvetic Airways aircraft from which millions' of dollars worth of diamonds were stolen on the tarmac of Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Eight armed and masked men made a hole in a security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched millions of dollars' worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

An armored truck of Brinks Diamond & Jewelry Services arrives at the cargo section of Brussels international airport, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Police on Tuesday are looking for eight men who made a hole in a security fence of Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and robbed tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? When the armored van set off for Brussels airport carrying $50 million worth of precious stones from Antwerp's high-security diamond district, eight robbers knew exactly what was up.

One of the biggest diamond heists of recent memory was about to go down.

The Belgian port city of Antwerp is the world capital of diamond-cutting. Over the years, the city's close-knit diamond community has created one of Europe's most secure zones, with some 2,000 surveillance cameras, police monitoring and countless identity controls to protect its $200 million in daily trade of rough and polished gems.

Antwerp, which lies 43 kilometers (27 miles) from the airport, had been hit by a major heist in 2003 and had learned its lesson.

"We are just about the safest place in Belgium," said Antwerp World Diamond Center spokeswoman Caroline De Wolf.

And once Swiss Flight LX789 was airborne Monday night on its way to Zurich, a cache of diamonds tucked safely in its hold, that would not be a great place for a robbery either.

But the airport's 25-kilometer perimeter fence and the transfer of the diamonds from the security van on the tarmac to the hold of the Fokker 100 twin engine jet ? now that held potential.

Bingo.

After weeks of lashing rain, snow, sleet and black ice, Monday evening was finally was as good as it gets in late winter in Belgium. Crisp, cold air meant dry roads for a perfect getaway, and winter's early darkness was a blessing for those needing stealth.

About 20 minutes before the flight's planned 8:05 p.m. departure, the robbers used a construction site outside the airport fence in which to hide. Then in two black cars with blue police lights flashing, they forced their way through the fence and onto the tarmac, speeding straight to pier A.

That was right where the armored car had just finished transferring the diamonds into the Fokker.

Dressed in dark police clothing and hoods, the thieves halted by the plane, whipped out machine guns and stopped the pilots and the transport security crew in their tracks.

The 29 passengers?

"They saw nothing," Anja Bijnens of the Brussels prosecutor's office said Tuesday. "They never fired a shot. They never injured anyone."

With speed and precision, the thieves opened the plane's hold, picked out 120 parcels and loaded them into the cars.

"Afterward, they made a high-speed getaway," Bijnens said, estimating the whole operation took about five minutes.

By late Tuesday, investigators had found the charred remains of a van most likely used in the heist but little else.

Behind them, the robbers left embarrassed airport officials trying to explain how thieves could so smoothly get into the airport, stage a robbery and make a clean getaway. Diamond industry officials who pride themselves on the security of their trade were equally mortified.

Airport spokesman Jan Van Der Cruijsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable ? not only to theft, but possibly to terrorism.

"'We abide by the most stringent rules," he said, noting the same apply to other European airports. "It has always been clear we meet all the requirements."

Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant in Britain, called the robbery unsettling ? not just because the fence was breached, but because the response did not appear to have been immediate. That, he said, raised questions as to whether alarms were ringing in the right places.

"It does seem very worrying that someone can actually have the time to drive two vehicles onto the airport, effect the robbery, and drive out without being intercepted," Baum said, raising the specter that terrorists could exploits such lapses as well.

Air transport is considered the safest way of transporting small high-value items, logistics experts say, a fact reflected by relatively cheap insurance policies.

Unlike a car or a truck, an airplane is unlikely to be waylaid by robbers once it has taken off. It's also considered to be very secure before the departure and after its arrival because the aircraft is always within the confines of an airport, which are normally highly secured areas.

The parcels contained rough and polished stones heading for Switzerland, where many of the 120 parcels were intended for different handlers.

For the diamond industry, Monday's robbery raised significant economic concerns.

"What we are talking about is obviously a gigantic sum," De Wolf said, giving an estimate of $50 million.

A decade ago, Antwerp was hit by one of the biggest diamond heists in history, when robbers disabled an alarm system and took precious stones, jewels, gold and securities from 123 of the 160 high-security vaults at Antwerp's Diamond Center. The loot was so abundant that the thieves even had to even leave some of it behind, police said, estimating the 2003 robbery to be worth about $100 million at the time.

Monday's heist, though, was a fresh blow to Antwerp's major industry, which prides itself on discretion and security.

"This is causing quite some unrest," said De Wolf. "It was incredible how easily it all went. This is worrying in terms of competitiveness, since other diamond centers are ready to pounce and take over our position."

___

Juergen Baetz and Don Melvin contributed to this report from Brussels.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-19-Belgium-Diamond%20Heist/id-743d5fdb98b847c7a19fe971c2826906

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Deadman Wonderland: Things You Should Know

Deadman Wonderland is Japan's only privately operated prison, built after the Great Tokyo Earthquake on ground zero. It gathers prisoners from all over Japan and raises money for the revival of the destroyed metropolis.

Owner:

Game Masters:

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
Deadmen

Deadmen are people who are infected with the Nameless Worm which enables them to do extraordinary things with their blood. Most of them were infected during the Great Tokyo Earthquake. During the Great Tokyo Earthquake, pieces of a certain Red Diamond were found. The Deadmen yet to come somehow inhaled or swallowed a piece of the Diamond. The Red Diamond is a capsule for the Nameless Worm and so the Nameless Worm settled in the bodies of the Deadmen and gave them the Branches of Sin. Those Nameless Worms were somehow created or released by the Wretched Egg and can possible be created by more advanced Deadmen. The privately owned prison, Deadman Wonderland, is a facility where Deadmen are held (more specifically the G Ward). They are used to compete against each other in the Carnival Corpse.

Branch Of Sin

The Branch of Sin is the ability to control and freely move your own blood. The Branch of Sin is mostly used as a weapon and can form into various objects. This power was created by the Nameless Worm carried by the Red Diamond. People who have a Branch of Sin are known as Deadmen and are confined in the G-Sector of Deadman Wonderland and are used for a show known as the Carnival Corpse.

Undertakers

The Undertakers are Tamaki's special enforcement group, his personal Gestapo composed of some of the worst criminals in Deadman Wonderland that are beyond redemption and are conditioned to become anti-Deadmen with any compassion and morality purged from their minds. The Undertakers possess technology called Worm Eater that allows them to nullify a Deadman's Branch of Sin ability, such that any blood constructs created by Deadmen will revert back to normal blood upon contact with their weapons and armor. There are also various foot soldiers armed with anti-Deadman mundane weaponry such as blades and firearms.

Carnival Corpse

Carnival Corpse (also referred to as Corpse Carnival or Carnival of Corpses) was a game very similar to gladiator battles in the coloseum in Rome. The similarity is the sick, brutal battles that are viewed upon as entertainment. In this case, the gladiators are Deadmen, and before each battle, the viewers take bets on who will win.

Mother Goose System

The Mother Goose System is a device created?by Sorae Igarashi, the MGS is positioned in the center of Deadman Wonderland. It was first built in the Medical Center, but when it was destroyed by the Earthquake, DW was built over it.

Worm Eater

Worm Eater is a device that instantly oxidizes the Nameless Worm, that resides in the Branch of Sin. With the Nameless Worm gone, the Deadmen's blood becomes useless, making them unable to attack. It seems that these special Branches of Sin are immune to the Worm Eater. The only way to get around the Worm Eater without having a special Branch Of Sin, is to attack with the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier.

Candy

Candy is a bitter, hard "medicine" that takes the shape of any normal kind of sweet. It is the temporary cure to the poison injected into the prisoner's body from their necklaces. As it is only temporary, Candy is very valuable (100,000 CastPoints) and must be taken every three days, so it isn't uncommon for the stronger prisoners to steal from the weak. If not taken, the body will cease to function and a painful death comes soon after. Candy can also be obtained by winning some of the normal contest of Deadman Wonderland or by winning in a Carnival Corpse.

Necro Macro

Necro Macro was a robot built in DW. They used it for battling and capturing powerful prisoners, such as the Deadmen. Four years ago the Necro Macro was used to capture Crow. It succeeded in capturing him, but killed twenty-four other prisoners in the process. Due to the death of non-deathrow inmates, the nectro mactro was supposed to be never used again.

G-Ward

G Ward or G Block was a special ward where all the Deadmen were held. It is the core of Deadman Wonderland and where the Carnival Corpse is located. G Ward was built in secret and is very hard to find. It is not allowed for regular prisoners to enter the G Ward.
The building is shaped like the wheel of a cog and in every separate cog there are rooms joined together, some are for prisoner accommodation, others are used for shops and entertainment reasons. There seem to be different ways of gaining access to the ward, but most involve using ventalation systems and secondary entrances unknown to most prisoners. G Ward, also houses numerous laboratories and rooms where human experimentation is performed and where scientists are attempting to harness the powers of the Deadmen for monetary and political gain.

Dog Race Show

The Dog Race Show was a money-raising show held at DW. The dog race is nothing more than an obstacle course with the prisoners as the contestants. The price for winning is 100,000 CP (the price to buy Candy) and every participant receives an anpan. The visitors can also place bets on the prisoners.

Cast Points
Cast Points (often abbreviated as CP) were the currency used in Deadman Wonderland, kept in cards called Cast Cards, similar to a debit card. As the currency, CP are required for everything from food, to clothing, to Candy. Unlike debit cards, Cast Cards require only a quick scan to be read. A Cast Card belongs to the standard equipment for any prisoner in Deadman Wonderland. Cast Points cannot be used to help for an early release for those in G-block.
1 CP = ?1 = $0.0127 = ?0.0102

Capra

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