U.S. military judge to hear arguments in Manning sentencing

FORT MEADE, Maryland | Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:18am BST

FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The trial of Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier found guilty on 19 counts of handing over classified data to WikiLeaks, is scheduled to move into the sentencing phase on Wednesday.

Manning, 25, escaped a life sentence with no parole when Colonel Denise Lind acquitted him of aiding the enemy, the most serious of 21 criminal counts brought against him in the court-martial. He still faces the possibility of 136 years in prison on the other counts.

The slightly built Army private first class was working as a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2010 when he was arrested and charged in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history.

In a court martial that stretched over two months, military prosecutors argued that Manning became a "traitor" to his country when he handed over to the anti-secrecy website a trove of 700,000 battlefield videos, diplomatic cables and other classified files.

On Wednesday, prosecutors and defence attorneys will call witnesses to address Manning's motives and the effects of his actions.

The U.S. government charged that the breach put national security at risk. It also thrust WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange into the international spotlight.

Defence attorneys portrayed Manning as well-intentioned but naive in believing the documents could spark a broader debate in the United States about its overseas operations.

Observers said the verdict could have "a chilling effect" on WikiLeaks by making potential sources of documents in the United States more wary about handing over secret information.

It could also encourage the United States to seek to prosecute Assange for his role in publishing the information.

Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for over a year to avoid extradition to Sweden, where two women have accused him of sexual assault. The activist has expressed fears that Sweden might hand him to U.S. authorities.

Army prosecutors contended during Manning's court-martial that U.S. security was harmed when WikiLeaks published videos of a 2007 attack by an American Apache helicopter gunship in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff, diplomatic cables, and secret details on prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.

Manning supporters gathered at Fort Meade on Tuesday said they were relieved he had been acquitted of the most serious charge, but thought the sentence he could face was excessive.

"The remaining charges against him are still tantamount to life in prison," said Nathan Fuller. "That's still an outrage."

The verdict was praised by two U.S. Congressmen - Representatives Michael Rogers, a Republican who chairs the House intelligence committee and Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger, its ranking member.

"Justice has been served today. PFC Manning harmed our national security, violated the public's trust, and now stands convicted of multiple serious crimes," they said in a statement.

(Reporting by Tom Ramstack; Writing by Scott Malone; editing by Gunna Dickson)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/UKTopNews/~3/aZs9Sg4x33k/story01.htm

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Permanent link to - Andy Pitt

by: Dylan K. Williams

Popup advertising can be very useful depending on how they are used. Most of the internet marketing experts and companies use this advertising strategy for obtaining the best results. The primary purpose of this method is to pull up the web traffic to a particular promotional website. Apart from this, popup ads will also help the business to draw more email addresses, which will be important for generating good contact lists and customer data base. This will in return help the company for email advertisement campaign. Usually, this is considered as a form of online advertisement. These are some of the major reason why it used in the internet marketing. When popup advertising is used in online marketing, it will help the website to maximize the distribution of the product information to many people. The usage of this online marketing strategy can become useful, useless or even harmful to your website. Therefore, if you are planning to use this technique for your website, it is very important to understand the process thoroughly and then use it for obtaining effective results.

The main aim of the popup advertising is to attract more web traffic to a promotional website. This could be done when certain website will be viewed by the visitors. When a visitor will visit a website, a pop up window will be allowed to appear. These ads will convince the visitor for visiting certain website for getting some freebies. Moreover, they will also provide useful information for the visitors. When the visitor is bound to visit the website, he has to click on the ad. However, when you are using such popup ads, for your website, it is very important to make sure that you are using the right graphics and words. In some cases, the visitor will neglect the pop up ads if it is very bright or in striking color. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the ad is created in the right way, which suits your business. In order to enhance the ad, you can also give it a blinking effect. The pop up ads should be simple in appearance yet attractive for the visitors. The first glace only should convenience the eye of the visitor.

Another great advantage of using popup advertising for web advertising is that, it will help the company to generate email addresses, which are very useful for list building. When you are using pop up ads, you will be able to use it either non-permissive or in opt-in way. In opt in process, the pop up window will appear when the user is about to go away the promotional website. In some times, it will also appear when the visitor is halfway by visiting it. These pop up ads will ask the user whether he or she needs to receive newsletters about the products or services they are promoting. Here the visitor has the power to either enter his email address or even to neglect it. However, this depends on the choice of the user. When you are surfing on the web, you will be able to find pop up windows that will even provide you information on wellness, health as well as the latest trends. These ads are more informational than promotional.

Non permissive is another option of generating the email addresses with the help of pop up ads. In this list building process, the pop up window will come out by offering downloadable useful applications and unbelievable freebies, as an online advertising process. This process is also some times known as banner ads.
In case, if you are interested to know more about this type of popup advertising option, you will be able to find it on popup-ad.com.

Source: http://andypitt.com/uncategorized/4456/

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Oil falls as worries about China economy, stock index tumble in Japan weigh on energy trading

BANGKOK ? The price of oil fell to near $104 a barrel Monday, taking a negative cue from a sharp drop in the Nikkei stock index.

West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude, was down 44 cents to $104.26 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 79 cents to close at $104.70 on Friday in New York.

Tetsu Emori, commodity markets fund manager at ASTMAZ Futures in Tokyo, said the weak performance of Japan's stock market spilled over into energy trading. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.5 percent, weighed down by a strengthening yen and worries about China's economy.

"The Japanese market is down very sharply," he said. "That may be some of the reason" for crude's decline.

Traders are also waiting to see whether the U.S. central bank will announce any alteration to its loose monetary policy. The Fed has been nudging the U.S. economy by buying massive amounts of government bonds, which has pushed borrowing rates sharply lower. But the program is widely expected to be scaled down later this year as the economy improves.

Oil prices declined last week after China, a major energy consumer, decided to press ahead with painful economic restructuring and forgo another round of stimulus even though growth has slowed.

The price of oil broke above $100 on July 3 for the first time since May 2012, mostly due to falling U.S. crude stockpiles and increased interest from financial investors.

In other trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

? Wholesale gasoline was down 0.3 cent at $3.00 a gallon.

? Heating oil was nearly unchanged at $3.015 a gallon.

? Natural gas shed 7.3 cents to $3.482 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/217335741.html

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Cell phones could increase cancer risk

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Source: www.sciencedaily.com --- Monday, July 29, 2013
A new study finds a strong link between heavy cell phone users and higher oxidative stress to all aspects of a human cell, including DNA. Uniquely based on examinations of the saliva of cell phone users, the research provides evidence of a connection between cell phone use and Cancer risk. ...

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/UVTAx77ex88/130729133531.htm

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PS4 online apps and chat: No PlayStation Plus subscription required?

Video games

Yannick LeJacq NBC News

6 hours ago

Sony

Sony will not require PlayStation 4 owners to have a premium "PlayStation Plus" subscription to use popular online features like chat or video streaming, the company explained in a video posted online Monday.

Sony revealed on Monday that it will not charge PlayStation 4 owners any additional fees to use online features like the console's chat features or popular third-party apps such as the video streaming services Hulu and Netflix.

Sony detailed the policy in a short online video, posted to field questions about the PlayStation 4. While the company said that playing online multiplayer will still require a yearly $50 PlayStation Plus subscription (a change in policy from the PlayStation 3, which offered multiplayer for free), the restriction would not apply to free-to-play games.

This PlayStation Network (PSN) news likely comes as a relief to PlayStation fans anxiously awaiting clarification. Gamers first got the news about multiplayer gameplay and premium PS Plus subscriptions via a short video meant to poke fun at Microsoft's controversial used games policy. The PlayStation 3's free online features have long been a selling point of the console, which offers basically all the same services as the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) without the annual $60 "Gold Membership" fee that Microsoft charged to access any of the console's online tools.

By keeping the majority of its online features free, Sony positions itself as the more cost-efficient console developer. Gamers weighing the pros and cons of one console over another have often seen the difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360's online offerings as a trade-off between convenience (or frugality) of PSN and the slightly sleeker "premium" features of Xbox Live Gold ? although having free access to online multiplayer and video streaming started to sound like much less of a bargain after the PlayStation Network suffered a massive security breach in 2011.

Security and privacy obviously remain open issues for both of the next-generation consoles, but Sony has now made the PlayStation 4 the cheaper alternative both in terms of the console's starting price ($399 versus the Xbox One's $499) and in terms of its online fees. In June, Microsoft said that it planned to keep Gold membership fees the same on the Xbox One as on the Xbox 360 ? though if the Internet's ongoing popularity contest between the two consoles has anything to say about it, the company might be in store for another 180 sometime soon.

Sony also confirmed in today's video that that it has increased the cap on PSN friends to 2,000?up from the current-generation limit of 100 and double the amount Microsoft has promised for the Xbox One.

Watch the full PS4 Q&A below.

Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered technology and games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at: Yannick.LeJacq@nbcuni.com.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2f4e986e/sc/23/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cps40Eonline0Eapps0Echat0Eno0Eplaystation0Eplus0Esubscription0Erequired0E6C10A786626/story01.htm

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American held in Chinese bribery investigation

Two Chinese employees of AstraZeneca were taken in for questioning as well as an American whose employer is unknown. Photograph: PA

Chinese police have arrested a second western businessman in connection with an investigation into alleged bribery of doctors by drug companies.

The US embassy said an American citizen has been detained by detectives investigating fraud and corruption in the Chinese medical system. The embassy refused to name the individual or say for which company he worked.

Sources at GSK and AstraZeneca, the British drug companies helping police with their inquiries, said the arrested person was not directly employed by them.

It follows the arrest of Peter Humphrey, a British private investigator who has worked for GSK in the past, on 10 July.

Police also detained two members of AstraZeneca's Chinese staff for questioning on Tuesday. The employees in Astra's main Shanghai sales centre are line managers of an Astra sales representative detained on Friday.

An Astra spokeswoman said one of the managers was "continuing to assist the [Shanghai public security] bureau with their inquiries". She said there was "no reason to believe [the arrest] is related to other investigations".

Meanwhile, four more western drug companies ? Sanofi, Novartis, Merck and Roche ? said they had used the same travel agency that GSK allegedly used to funnel bribes to doctors. All four companies said they had stopped using the Shanghai Linjiang agency.

China's health ministry said 39 hospital staff at a hospital in southern Guangdong province would be punished for taking ?300,000 worth of bribes from two drug companies between January 2010 and December 2012.

"The vice-chairman of the hospital's trade union and two people in charge of the two pharmaceutical companies involved have had their cases transferred to judicial organs, while nine doctors who directly received kickbacks were dismissed, suspended or had their licences revoked," China's state news agency reported.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/23/american-held-chinese-bribery-investigation

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National Football League: Vick up for Eagles quarterback competition

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PHILADELPHIA ? Michael Vick made a promise yesterday to coaches, teammates and most importantly, himself.

?From now on until my career is over, until I stop playing the game of football, I?m going to compete every day,? Vick said after the Eagles? first split-squad training camp practice. ?I love that part about football. I love the competition aspect. And I love what I do. I love the game that I play. And I think that supersedes everything.?

No one asked if that meant he took days off during a fairly illustrious 11-year career, the last five seasons with the Eagles. It wasn?t necessary.

In his younger days, the 33-year-old Vick was so explosive that he could take quarters and halves off and still win games. For several years, he was recognized as the fastest player in football.

Now Vick seems to be more accepting of his physical limitations. He?s added four pounds to a relatively smallish frame to absorb those shots that sidelined him. He grew a set of guns with barbell curls, if you will.

?Four pounds and all muscle,? Vick bragged. ?I?m trying to keep my body in the best possible shape to withstand the hits. Everyone says I?m injury prone so I?m trying to fight that. But it?s cool, man. That?s why we compete. That?s why we workout. That?s why we train hard.?

Vick is almost as weary of discussing the competition for the starting quarterback job as the injuries. But Vick knows it?s on.

Nick Foles is ready for the battle judging by his unabashedly candid words Monday. ?I?m not here to be a backup,? Foles said. ?I?m here to be the guy. I don?t think we play this game to sit on the bench. We play it to play. And I?m here to play.?

Rookie Matt Barkley threw his hat into the starting competition as well, although he?s not yet starting quarterback material.

?We all believe in ourselves,? Vick said. ?It?s great that Nick feels that way.?

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the plan is to get the quarterbacks snaps and evaluated ?in certain situations.?

How long could it take Kelly to find his guy?

?Until a starter emerges,? Kelly said. ?Everybody gets a chance, and everybody has an opportunity to show us what their resume is, and your r?sum? is what you put on tape every day. If somebody continues to make plays and someone doesn?t make plays, that guy is going to move up and the other one?s going to move down. Our depth chart is written in sand right now.?

Kelly expects to have a starter before the gameplan is in for the Sept. 9th opener against the Washington Redskins. That won?t happen a few days before the game according to Kelly, who thinks Vick is ?excited about getting ready to get going.?

?He came in in great shape,? Kelly said. ?When you see him and get a chance to see him, I think he spent a lot of time here in the offseason and worked extremely hard with guys like (Jeremy) Maclin and (Jason) Avant, and the guys that were around here in the summertime. So he?s excited to get going.?

Vick sidestepped a question about reworking is contract knowing he would have to compete for the starting job, explaining that he did so because of Kelly.

?That was it. I heard a lot about him,? Vick said. ?I?ve watched Oregon throughout the years. And I just felt like this was the best opportunity for me. And I chose it regardless of what the things may be. I?m still going to compete. I?m still going to try to be the best quarterback that I can be on this field. I still feel good. I still feel like I?ve got a lot left in my tank. And I think it?s coming out each and every day in practice.?

If Vick doesn?t win the job, well, he?s not going to be team-wrecker.

?I will continue to support this team,? Vick said. ?I?m here for one reason, to help this team win football games. And like I just said a second ago by any means necessary. Whatever it takes. If I have to watch film with all the quarterbacks, if I have to coach the quarterbacks one day then that?s what I?ll do.?

Source: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130723/SPORTS03/130729756/national-football-league-vick-up-for-eagles-quarterback-competition-

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