Amendment tabled for autumn conference urges party to oppose additional powers for police or government to restrict access to internet or social media The Liberal Democrats will oppose David Cameron’s proposal that people suspected of inciting violence during social unrest could be banned from social media networks. An amendment is being tabled for the party’s autumn conference that, if voted through, would put pressure on the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, to resist Cameron’s plan. Signs of increased tension between the coalition partners emerged as the acting Metropolitan police commissioner, Tim Godwin, told the home affairs select committee on Tuesday that he had considered asking the authorities to switch off social media networks. He said he had considered the step because, although they were often a source of information, the sites could also be misleading. Details of the conference amendment came as Clegg sought to propose his own policy response to the riots, with the different philosophies of the coalition partners beginning to come to the fore. On Tuesday morning, he announced a “riot payback” scheme to make looters and arsonists face their victims, along with support to help ex-offenders find jobs. The scheme would mean looters carrying out community service in riot-hit neighbourhoods. They are to wear orange suits to make them visible, and money is being provided to enable victims who want to do so to confront the people who torched their homes or looted their businesses last week. The announcement contrasted with some of the policies, including the clampdown on social media networks, floated by Cameron in the aftermath of the riots. Differences between the coalition partners surfaced at the weekend as senior Lib Dems urged an end to “kneejerk” reactions by politicians. The party’s deputy leader, Simon Hughes, insisted long-term solutions lay in supporting communities by offering opportunities and redistributing wealth, not slashing help from the state. In the past, Cameron has made the positive and liberating effect social liberating media can have central to his vision of the “post-bureaucratic age”. Texting and BlackBerry Messenger were critical in planning the riots and, in last week’s recall of parliament, the prime minister said users of social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and BlackBerry Messenger, could have their access to services blocked. He said he had instructed the intelligence services and police to explore whether it was “right and possible” to cut off those “plotting violence, disorder and criminality”. On Monday, the Chinese government official news agency, Xinhua, welcomed the suggestion, saying it marked an improvement from Cameron’s comments in February. Then, he had urged Egypt and other north African nations to allow freedom of expression after they tried to restrict the operation of social media. Xinhua said: “For the benefit of the general public, proper web monitoring is legitimate and necessary. “We may wonder why western leaders, on the one hand, tend to indiscriminately accuse other nations of monitoring, but on the other take for granted their steps to monitor and control the internet.” Evan Harris, the vice-chair of the Lib Dems’ ruling federal policy committee, will table an amendment at the party gathering. At this spring’s conference, a vote on a Lib Dem amendment presaged a U-turn on NHS policy as Clegg came under pressure to reflect the views of the Lib Dem grassroots. The amendment, entitled “Protecting the essential freedom of the internet”, calls for “additional safeguards for online freedom of speech to be in place”. It reads: “Oppose additional powers for the police or the government to restrict access to the internet or to social media or to order its suspension. “[We should be] making it clear that the government will not allow a two-tier internet, and will hold to the principle of net neutrality, if necessary through regulation.” The amendment is likely to get broad support. On Monday, the backbencher Julian Huppert also wrote against blocking any contemplation of shutting down social networks. He said: “Some people in parliament and elsewhere have chosen to focus on the use of social media in these riots. And David Cameron has responded by announcing a review designed to explore whether it would be ‘right and possible’ to turn off social networks or mobile phone services during times of civil unrest. “Even if we look at these riots in isolation – always a dangerous approach to policymaking – the idea that we should prevent communication via these networks is patently ludicrous. “The brilliant response to the riots on Facebook, Twitter and the wider internet, embodied most clearly by the website Riot Clean-Up, has arguably done more to bring communities together than anything else. “There is little evidence to suggest this is a problem that needs to be tackled, and yet the government seems to be seriously considering curbing freedom of communication in a manner which would make it far harder for the good things that have come from this unrest either to continue or to happen again. “This authoritarian knee-jerkery is a reminder of the bad old days. Those who cherish liberty, in all parties and none, must now defend these important new forms of communication.” UK riots Crime Police Liberal Democrats Liberal-Conservative coalition Social media Internet BlackBerry Twitter Mobile phones Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
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The estranged husband of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Taylor Armstrong has been found dead in his Los Angeles home. (Aug. 16)
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A man who climbed an Oklahoma TV transmission tower spent a sixth day up there Tuesday while the spectacle at ground level expanded, a public response that a mental health expert decried as callous. (Aug. 16)
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COLEMAN, Alberta — Winnipeg Jets center Rick Rypien was found dead in his home Monday, nine months after he took a leave of absence to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. An official with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police called Rypien’s death sudden, but not suspicious. Rypien, a cousin of Super Bowl MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, was 27. “We would like to express our sincere sympathies to the Rypien family as well as Rick’s friends,” the Jets said in a release. “We also appreciate all of the support that has come pouring in from Rick’s fans. Rick was a talented player with an extremely bright future. His hunger for the game made him a valued team member both on and off the ice. This loss has impacted us as more than just a hockey team.” Rypien is the second active NHL player found dead this offseason. Former New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died in May due to an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Rypien signed a $700,000, one-year deal with Winnipeg last month after spending parts of six seasons with Vancouver. He had nine goals, seven assists and 226 penalty minutes in 119 career NHL games, often dropping the gloves against much larger opponents. “Rick has been a beloved member of the Canucks family for the past six years,” the team said in a statement. “Rick was a great teammate and friend to our players, coaches and staff. We send our deepest condolences to the Rypien family at this most difficult time.” The Canucks announced on Nov. 25 that they had granted Rypien an indefinite leave of absence. It was the second time in three years the forward had left the team to deal with an undisclosed personal matter. Rypien also received a six-game suspension from the NHL last season after grabbing a fan on his way to the dressing room in Minnesota. Rypien also took an extended personal leave after a rash of injuries two years ago, missing 70 games during the 2008-09 season.
Continue reading …Anderson Cooper Leads Show Scrutinizing Bachmann on Gay Rights While Voters Are Overwhelmingly Concerned About Economy
August 16, 2011 No Comment
CNN's own poll recently showed that voters 60-to-one believe the economy is the most pressing issue facing the United States, as opposed to policies toward gays and lesbians. CNN's Anderson Cooper apparently thought the views of Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann toward gays and lesbians important enough to merit the lead segment on his Monday show. “We begin tonight 'Keeping Them Honest' with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her sudden silence on a topic she was once anything-but-silent about,” Cooper began his show. His critical segment accused the Minnesota congresswoman of “judging” gays and lesbians and highlighted her sudden silence on gay rights, an issue she had been quite outspoken over. [Video below the break.] A CNN poll from the other week found that voters by a 60-to-one margin believe the economy is the most pressing issue facing the country, as opposed to policies toward gays and lesbians. However, Cooper thought Bachmann's opinions important enough to merit prime-time scrutiny, although his biggest criticism was that the congresswoman is dodging the questions about her views. CNN's scrutiny of Republican candidates' views on gay marriage far outweighs its questioning of Democratic presidential candidates. While Cooper is putting Bachmann in the spotlight, he has failed to do the same with President Obama – whose views on gay marriage are decidedly vague and who has frustrated his progressive base with his wishy-washy stance. Also, a Nexis search shows that Anderson Cooper 360 never substantially covered the gay rights positions of Democratic candidates in 2007 when they aired their views on the gay channel Logo. The show devoted not more than an anchor brief to the interviews. During the Monday segment, the CNN anchor took Bachmann's remarks of the gay lifestyle as “bondage” into question, not realizing the congresswoman was speaking in spiritual terms, not literally. “Claiming that millions of gays and lesbian Americans are living in personal bondage or personal despair, personal enslavement, claiming that the very use of the word gay is satanic, sounds like personal judgment, certainly not a fact,” Cooper asserted. “So apparently Miss Bachmann believes it's both a lifestyle choice and also a sexual identity disorder,” the CNN anchor mused, seemingly taking every opportunity to discredit the congresswoman. “You should know that The American Psychiatric Association does not consider it any kind of disorder or mental illness. Now, Ms. Bachmann is of course, entitled to her opinion and it's an opinion many people this country share,” Cooper added. “But what's interesting is that she is no longer willing it seems to share that opinion of hers publicly.” A transcript of the segment, which aired on August 15 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, is as follows: ANDERSON COOPER, host, Anderson Cooper 360: Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight “Keeping Them Honest” with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her sudden silence on a topic she was once anything-but-silent about. Bachmann obviously won the Iowa straw poll on Saturday. But she also seems to be running from her own past statements about sexual orientation and civil rights, refusing to answer questions about her statements. And yesterday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” also insisting she isn't judging gays and lesbians. Watch. (Video Clip) MICHELE BACHMANN, GOP presidential candidate: Well I am running for the Presidency of the United States. I'm not running to be anyone's judge. I do stand very – DAVID GREGORY, host, NBC's Meet the Press: But you have judged them. BACHMANN: I don't judge them. I don't judge them. I am running for Presidency of the United State [sic]. I am not anyone's judge. And I'm not standing as anyone's judge. GREGORY: Congresswoman, you have – do you think anyone hears that and thinks you haven't made a judgment about gays and lesbians? BACHMANN: That's all I can tell you is I'm not judging. GREGORY: So your words should stand for themselves. BACHMANN: I'm running for the Presidency of the United States. (End Video Clip) COOPER: So she says she's not judging anyone, which as you'll see in a moment is simply not true. But mainly, she is just not answering questions about her views on sexual orientation which is a bit strange, because the congresswoman has never been shy on the issue before. As a state senator, she sponsored an amendment to Minnesota's constitution banning same-sex marriage. She spoke out sharply against homosexuality. She even spoke out about against using the adjective “gay” in connection with same-sex orientation. That's how outspoken she was. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: It's part of Satan, I think, to say it's gay. It's anything but gay. If you're involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. (End Video Clip) COOPER: Claiming that millions of gays and lesbian Americans are living in personal bondage or personal despair, personal enslavement, claiming that the very use of the word gay is satanic, sounds like personal judgment, certainly not a fact. She also refers to the gay and lesbian lifestyle, by which one can only assume she means it's a choice. You know in the very same speech, practically the very same breath, Miss Bachmann went on to describe same-sex attraction as a disorder, a mental illness. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with a very real issue of sexual disfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders. (End Video Clip) COOPER: So apparently Miss Bachmann believes it's both a lifestyle choice and also a sexual identity disorder. You should know that The American Psychiatric Association does not consider it any kind of disorder or mental illness. Now, Ms. Bachmann is of course, entitled to her opinion and it's an opinion many people this country share. But what's interesting is that she is no longer willing it seems to share that opinion of hers publicly. For weeks now she has been deflecting questions about her past statements by calling the question itself irrelevant or frivolous. This is the response she has given when asked about it. (Video Clip) BACHMANN: I am running for the Presidency of the United States. I am not running to be anyone's judge. And I am more than happy to stand for questions on running for Presidency of the United States. You know, all of these kinds of questions really aren't about what people are concerned about right now. I am running to be the President of the United States. I am not running to be any person's judge. Well, I'm running for the Presidency of the United States. And I'm here today to talk about job creation. (End Video Clip) COOPER: She is running for President, which is very possibly the reason why she is not answering this question about her past statements. When asked about those statements by New Hampshire's concord monitor, Congresswoman Bachmann said, quote, “I'm not involved in light, frivolous matters, I'm not involved in fringe or side issues. I'm involved in serious issues”. Yet those light frivolous matters were once serious enough for Ms. Bachmann to advocate changing her state's constitution. By the way, we invited Ms. Bachmann on tonight as we do on many nights, yet again our request for interview was declined and accepted calls went un- answered.
Continue reading …Oppo announces X903 smartphone, leaves Leonardo DiCaprio confused (video)
August 16, 2011 No Comment
Oppo , beloved maker of a variety of electronics rarely released outside of China, is jumping into the smartphone business with an Android-powered slider called the Oppo X903. Take the following specs with a pinch of salt, but the device is believed to have a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 CPU and comes with an eight megapixel camera and a 3.97-inch WVGA IPS screen. So far, so normal — what’s not normal is the ad campaign for the phone, in which a bemused Leonardo DiCaprio stares glumly out of a moving train as a woman writes “find me” in condensation on a perfectly clean window. That’s right after the break and you won’t have to look too hard to find press shots of the phone itself either. They’re down there in the gallery. Gallery: Oppo X903 Press shots Continue reading Oppo announces X903 smartphone, leaves Leonardo DiCaprio confused (video) Oppo announces X903 smartphone, leaves Leonardo DiCaprio confused (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …A young person who called the police emergency hotline in Germany to report an appalling case of forced servitude didn’t find much sympathy at the other end. The caller was an 11-year-old boy complaining about his chores, telling authorities “I have to work all day long. I haven’t any free…
Continue reading …Evgeny Tsaregorodtsev Loses It: Ukraine Goalie Goes Crazy During Hockey Brawl (VIDEO)
August 16, 2011 No Comment
There are hockey fights, there are hockey brawls…and then there’s this. During a game between Donbass Donestsk of the Ukraine and Slovakia’s HK Nitra, things got a little chippy between the teams, resulting in a fight. As the tussle began, Evgeny Tsaregorodtsev of Donestsk could be seen literally beating a defenseless opponent who was looking the other direction with his goalie stick. It’s at this point that the hockey fight transforms into a hockey brawl as both teams begin mercilessly beating the Europe out of each other. After 30 seconds or so, things cool down and the teams separate, but Tsaregorodtsev isn’t satisfied yet. As both teams conclude fighting, the goalie can be seen taunting and apparently even throwing items into the crowd before being escorted off the ice by teammates. But Tsaregorodtsev, wasn’t done yet, the goalie for the Ukrainian League champions beat the glass with his stick and apparently challenged onlookers before making his eventual, and well-deserved exit from the arena. In the movie Happy Gilmore, Adam Sandler’s hockey loving character explains that he holds a record for being the only person to attempt to stab someone with their skate. In Tsaregorodtsev, I believe Gilmore has met his match, except with a few more syllables attached. (WATCH VIDEO AT TOP)
Continue reading …The White House has signed up on Foursquare, just in time for President Obama’s bus tour of Midwestern states , reports Mashabl e. The White House says the president will be regularly checking in, “and now you’ll be able to discover ‘tips’ from the White House featuring the places President Obama…
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Researchers estimate that persuading inactive people to take up light, daily exercise could have a similar effect on a population’s mortality rates as a smoking cessation programme Exercising for just 15 minutes a day can increase your life expectancy by three years compared with doing little or no exercise, according to a major study of more than 400,000 people. The benefits of physical activity are well-documented, and the UK government recommends that adults get at least two and half hours of exercise per week. In the latest study, scientists wanted to examine whether smaller amounts of exercise could also confer health benefits. The researchers collected data on how much exercise was undertaken over the course of eight years by more than 400,000 people in Taiwan. By categorising the participants into bands of overall activity ranging from “inactive” to “very high”, they could directly compare health outcomes based on exercise levels. Those who exercised for an average of 92 minutes per week had a 14% overall reduced risk of mortality and a 10% reduced risk of cancer compared with people in the “inactive” group. Every additional 15 minutes of exercise above and beyond the minimum amount further reduced mortality risks by 4% and risks of death from cancers by 1%. “These benefits were applicable to all age groups and both sexes, and to those with cardiovascular disease risks,” wrote the researchers in the Lancet . “Individuals who were inactive had a 17% increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the low-volume group.” Dr Chi-Pang Wen of the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan and Dr Jackson Pui Man Wai of the National Taiwan Sport University, who led the study, said that if inactive individuals in Taiwan were to engage in low-volume daily exercise, “one in six all-cause deaths could be postponed – mortality reductions of similar magnitude have been estimated for a successful tobacco control programme in the general population.” They added: “If the minimum amount of exercise we suggest is adhered to, mortality from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer could be reduced. This low volume of physical activity could play a central part in the global war against non-communicable diseases, reducing medical costs and health disparities.” Professor Neville Owen, head of the behavioural epidemiology laboratory at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne said the findings were “intriguing” but that physical activity for leisure was a rare commodity in many adult populations. In Australia, the USA and Canada, he said, leisure-time physical activity drops off rapidly from early middle age and is simply not on the agenda for a large proportion of the population. “In these chronically inactive populations, much of the problems that we are seeing can be attributed to people being stuck for long periods of time in front of screens for work and entertainment, and stuck in automobiles to get to and from work,” said Owen. “Thus, there is very little functional physical activity in people’s lives, and many adults will sit for 10 or 12 hours a day. The real action is in promoting physically active transport and a range of initiatives that will help people to reduce the vast amounts of time that they spend sitting.” Medical research Health Health & wellbeing Alok Jha guardian.co.uk
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