Heat Wave Cookout Killer Heat Wave to Send Temps in East to Triple Digits Lightning Storm in a Cloud squishyZaz says: eegh… world's gettin hotter RT @CNN : Extreme heat affecting over 30 U.S. states. http://t.co/NlJxUVv
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US defence secretary to certify that repealing prohibition will not hurt military’s ability to fight The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, is set to end the ban on gay people serving openly in the armed forces, certifying that repealing the 17-year-old prohibition would not hurt the US military’s ability to fight. His decision comes two weeks after US military chiefs told Panetta that ending the ban would not affect military readiness. Dismantling the ban fulfils a 2008 campaign promise by Barack Obama, who helped usher the repeal through Congress and signed it into law late last December. The move triggered vehement opposition from some in Congress and initial reluctance from military leaders, who worried that it could trigger a backlash and erode troop cohesion on the battlefield. Defence officials said the announcement would be made later on Friday. Obama is also expected to certify the change. Repeal of the ban would become effective 60 days after certification, which could open the military to gay servicemen and women by the end of September. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, adopted under Bill Clinton, has come under an onslaught of legal challenges, including a federal court ruling early in July that ordered the US government to immediately stop enforcing the gay ban. Days later, however, the Obama administration appealed the ruling, saying that abruptly ending the ban would complicate the orderly process for repeal that had already been set in motion. A San Francisco appeals court agreed, but added a caveat: the government could not investigate, penalise or discharge anyone for being openly gay. The military services have conducted extensive internal studies and about five months of training to gauge how troops would react to the change. A survey last year found that some two-thirds would not care if the ban was lifted. Opposition to the repeal was strongest among combat troops, particularly marines. The bulk of the military has been trained on the new law, including a complex swath of details about how the change will or will not affect housing, transfers or other health and social benefits. In most cases, the guidelines demand that gay men and lesbians are treated just as any other soldier, sailor, air crew or marine is treated. As training went on this year, senior military leaders said they had seen no real problems. Panetta’s predecessor as US defence secretary, Robert Gates, told the Associated Press that people had been “mildly and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pushback in the training”. There will still be differences, however, since same sex partners will not be given the same housing and other benefits as married couples. Instead, they will be treated like unmarried couples. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, a national organisation representing gay troops, said Panetta’s action was welcomed by gay and lesbian troops “who have had to serve their country in silence for far too long”. US military Gay rights United States guardian.co.uk
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US defence secretary to certify that repealing prohibition will not hurt military’s ability to fight The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, is set to end the ban on gay people serving openly in the armed forces, certifying that repealing the 17-year-old prohibition would not hurt the US military’s ability to fight. His decision comes two weeks after US military chiefs told Panetta that ending the ban would not affect military readiness. Dismantling the ban fulfils a 2008 campaign promise by Barack Obama, who helped usher the repeal through Congress and signed it into law late last December. The move triggered vehement opposition from some in Congress and initial reluctance from military leaders, who worried that it could trigger a backlash and erode troop cohesion on the battlefield. Defence officials said the announcement would be made later on Friday. Obama is also expected to certify the change. Repeal of the ban would become effective 60 days after certification, which could open the military to gay servicemen and women by the end of September. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, adopted under Bill Clinton, has come under an onslaught of legal challenges, including a federal court ruling early in July that ordered the US government to immediately stop enforcing the gay ban. Days later, however, the Obama administration appealed the ruling, saying that abruptly ending the ban would complicate the orderly process for repeal that had already been set in motion. A San Francisco appeals court agreed, but added a caveat: the government could not investigate, penalise or discharge anyone for being openly gay. The military services have conducted extensive internal studies and about five months of training to gauge how troops would react to the change. A survey last year found that some two-thirds would not care if the ban was lifted. Opposition to the repeal was strongest among combat troops, particularly marines. The bulk of the military has been trained on the new law, including a complex swath of details about how the change will or will not affect housing, transfers or other health and social benefits. In most cases, the guidelines demand that gay men and lesbians are treated just as any other soldier, sailor, air crew or marine is treated. As training went on this year, senior military leaders said they had seen no real problems. Panetta’s predecessor as US defence secretary, Robert Gates, told the Associated Press that people had been “mildly and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pushback in the training”. There will still be differences, however, since same sex partners will not be given the same housing and other benefits as married couples. Instead, they will be treated like unmarried couples. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, a national organisation representing gay troops, said Panetta’s action was welcomed by gay and lesbian troops “who have had to serve their country in silence for far too long”. US military Gay rights United States guardian.co.uk
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Eurozone debt crisis takes a positive turn with bailout deal for Greece, hammered out at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday night Financial markets have welcomed the long-awaited rescue package for Greece and the strengthening of the eurozone’s bailout fund. The €109bn (£95bn) bailout deal for Greece, which was hammered out at an emergency summit of eurozone leaders in Brussels on Thursday night, sent the euro and shares rallying across Europe on Friday morning. The value of government debt in crisis-hit Greece, Spain and Italy rose for a second day. Banking stocks, which have recently been battered by the eurozone debt crisis, were among the top risers, amid relief that a bank levy was off the table, at least for now. “It is encouraging they have come up with something and dealt with some of the restructuring,” said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners. “The markets have got excited about it. But the cuts to Greek debt do not put the country on a sustainable footing for growth and do not take us where we want to be.” As part of the deal, the eurozone’s €440bn rescue fund established in May last year, known as European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), will be given broader powers to help prevent the debt crisis spreading to Italy and Spain. The package agreed after weeks of bad-tempered, intense haggling, was the most radical action from the eurozone since it created the bailout fund. Currently the fund can only be used as a “last resort” to rescue a eurozone country whose plight jeopardises the stability of the euro as a whole. Under the 16-point blueprint agreed on Thursday night , the fund will be able to intervene on the secondary markets to buy up the bonds of struggling debtor countries from private investors. It can also take preemptive or “precautionary” action to nip a debt crisis in the bud by, for example, agreeing lines of credit, and supply loans to struggling eurozone countries who would use the money to shore up and recapitalise their banks. Such aid would apply, unlike at present, to countries not already in bailout programmes. The package will also allow Greece to roll over maturing debt and pay a lower interest rate on its bailout loans. The banking sector will exchange and roll over €54bn of Greek debt, with private investors taking a haircut worth 21% of the market value of their debts. Lacking detail Economists at Barclays Capital said the summit results were “more than expected but not enough to make us sleep comfortably”. “The official statement lacks detail in key areas such as private sector involvement for Greece and collateral requirements. Also, the envisaged reforms of the EFSF lack detail and we are struck that, given the additional tasks envisaged for the EFSF, the size of the EFSF is not even discussed in the document.” The euro rallied to a two-week high against the dollar, hitting $1.4440 before steadying around $1.4409. The FTSE 100 index in London climbed nearly 40 points to 5938, a gain of 0.65%, with insurers Aviva and Legal & General and banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland leading the gains. Spain’s Ibex and Italy’s FTSE MIB index gained nearly 1%. The yield, or interest rate, on government bonds fell in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities, said: “We questioned whether the proposals agreed in the euro area leaders’ summit would go down as the day they saved the eurozone and took the first steps towards a fiscal union or whether it would be the traditional short-term sugar rush proposal which does not stand up to scrutiny or the test of time … It might actually be somewhere in between.” “The proposals were slightly better than expected but maybe not good enough to take away the possibility of further contagion if the economic situation deteriorates. They did take Greece off the naughty step, put their arms around them and basically said ‘take your time, pay us back whenever you can’. By extending maturities and reducing interest rates they have certainly given more support to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.” European debt crisis European banks Europe Greece Euro Euro Julia Kollewe Ian Traynor guardian.co.uk
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Eurozone debt crisis takes a positive turn with bailout deal for Greece, hammered out at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday night Financial markets have welcomed the long-awaited rescue package for Greece and the strengthening of the eurozone’s bailout fund. The €109bn (£95bn) bailout deal for Greece, which was hammered out at an emergency summit of eurozone leaders in Brussels on Thursday night, sent the euro and shares rallying across Europe on Friday morning. The value of government debt in crisis-hit Greece, Spain and Italy rose for a second day. Banking stocks, which have recently been battered by the eurozone debt crisis, were among the top risers, amid relief that a bank levy was off the table, at least for now. “It is encouraging they have come up with something and dealt with some of the restructuring,” said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners. “The markets have got excited about it. But the cuts to Greek debt do not put the country on a sustainable footing for growth and do not take us where we want to be.” As part of the deal, the eurozone’s €440bn rescue fund established in May last year, known as European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), will be given broader powers to help prevent the debt crisis spreading to Italy and Spain. The package agreed after weeks of bad-tempered, intense haggling, was the most radical action from the eurozone since it created the bailout fund. Currently the fund can only be used as a “last resort” to rescue a eurozone country whose plight jeopardises the stability of the euro as a whole. Under the 16-point blueprint agreed on Thursday night , the fund will be able to intervene on the secondary markets to buy up the bonds of struggling debtor countries from private investors. It can also take preemptive or “precautionary” action to nip a debt crisis in the bud by, for example, agreeing lines of credit, and supply loans to struggling eurozone countries who would use the money to shore up and recapitalise their banks. Such aid would apply, unlike at present, to countries not already in bailout programmes. The package will also allow Greece to roll over maturing debt and pay a lower interest rate on its bailout loans. The banking sector will exchange and roll over €54bn of Greek debt, with private investors taking a haircut worth 21% of the market value of their debts. Lacking detail Economists at Barclays Capital said the summit results were “more than expected but not enough to make us sleep comfortably”. “The official statement lacks detail in key areas such as private sector involvement for Greece and collateral requirements. Also, the envisaged reforms of the EFSF lack detail and we are struck that, given the additional tasks envisaged for the EFSF, the size of the EFSF is not even discussed in the document.” The euro rallied to a two-week high against the dollar, hitting $1.4440 before steadying around $1.4409. The FTSE 100 index in London climbed nearly 40 points to 5938, a gain of 0.65%, with insurers Aviva and Legal & General and banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland leading the gains. Spain’s Ibex and Italy’s FTSE MIB index gained nearly 1%. The yield, or interest rate, on government bonds fell in Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities, said: “We questioned whether the proposals agreed in the euro area leaders’ summit would go down as the day they saved the eurozone and took the first steps towards a fiscal union or whether it would be the traditional short-term sugar rush proposal which does not stand up to scrutiny or the test of time … It might actually be somewhere in between.” “The proposals were slightly better than expected but maybe not good enough to take away the possibility of further contagion if the economic situation deteriorates. They did take Greece off the naughty step, put their arms around them and basically said ‘take your time, pay us back whenever you can’. By extending maturities and reducing interest rates they have certainly given more support to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.” European debt crisis European banks Europe Greece Euro Euro Julia Kollewe Ian Traynor guardian.co.uk
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We had our hands on a raw version of the Droid Bionic way back at CES , but two listings on Amazon for desktop and car docking stations , uncovered by Android Central forum posters, may give the clearest look at the phone so far. As you can see in the shot above of the desktop dock Motorola’s slab appears to have a chrome ring running around the outside, while the dock itself has a 3.5mm audio out, HDMI output and USB ports. There’s no price or release date listed for either accessory but if you’ve been lusting over the beast and its rumored specs we’re figuring some quiet time with these shots is just what the doctor ordered — check after the break for a shot of the car dock and the back of the desktop docking station. Continue reading Droid Bionic’s secrecy betrayed on Amazon, by simple dock listings Droid Bionic’s secrecy betrayed on Amazon, by simple dock listings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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China accuses Lai Changxing of running huge smuggling operation but rights activists say he will not receive fair trial China has welcomed a Canadian court’s decision to extradite Lai Changxing – its most-wanted fugitive, but lawyers and rights activists have expressed doubt that he would have access to a fair trial back home. The federal court cleared the way on Thursday for the extradition of Lai and he could be sent home as early as Saturday, dismissing concerns that he could be tortured or executed once he arrives back in China. Beijing has sought the deportation of Lai, accusing him of running a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation in the southeastern city of Xiamen in the 1990s. Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999 and claimed refugee status, saying the allegations against him were politically motivated. “The Chinese government’s stance on Lai Changxing returning to China to stand trial is clear. We welcome the Canadian court’s decision,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. The verdict was issued just after the visit of Canada’s foreign minister, John Baird, to China, where he said “both the Canadian people and the Chinese people don’t have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters”. China promised Canada in a diplomatic note that Lai would not be tortured or executed and that Canadian officials would have access to him. “The fact that Canadian government officials appear willing to accept on face value the Chinese government’s assurances that it will respect due legal process suggests a near-willful ignorance of the sharp deterioration in China’s human rights environment since mid-February 2011,” said Phelim Kine, a researcher for Human Rights Watch , in an email. “[The] Canadian government’s confidence in the Chinese legal system is curious given that since mid-February 2011, rule of law has been under intensified attack and the Chinese government has been routinely deploying thuggish, unlawful tactics to harass, silence and intimidate lawyers, artists and civil society activists.” The case exploded in the special economic zone of Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province in the mid-1990s when Jia Qinglin, now China’s fourth-ranked official, was head of the province. Beijing has accused Lai’s business empire, the Yuanhua Group, of bribing officials to allow a massive smuggling ring in a scandal that implicated more than 200 senior figures, including Jia’s wife at the time, Lin Youfang. China put more than 300 suspects on trial and sentenced 14 to death, including provincial officials and a former vice-minister of public security, in a case Beijing has used for a propaganda campaign against corruption. Lai admitted in a 2009 interview with Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper that he had avoided taxes by exploiting loopholes in the law, but he denies bribery charges. He said that had he not been in Canada he would have been executed. Canada has no death penalty and will not usually extradite anyone to a state where capital punishment is practised without assurances the suspect will not be executed. Many Chinese legal experts and human rights activists said it was unlikely Lai could receive a fair trial in China. “Unless the investigators, prosecutors and judges he will confront dramatically alter their customary practices, Lai will not receive a fair trial by international human rights standards or Canadian criminal justice standards,” Jerome Cohen, an expert in Chinese law at New York University, said. Cohen was called by the Canadian government as an expert witness at Lai’s refugee hearing several years ago. “The real question is what detailed provisions has the PRC promised to make to assure Canada that there will be little risk of torture before Lai is convicted and during the undoubtedly long period of his prison sentence.” Reflecting the intensity of China’s official position, state media in 2001 cited then-premier Zhu Rongji as saying Lai “should die three times, and even so that wouldn’t be enough”. John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, a US-based group that promotes prisoners’ rights in China, said: “Without a presumption of innocence – indeed with the presumption of guilt – how does one get a ‘fair trial?’” But he said Chinese assurances and the offer to allow Canadian diplomats access to Lai should offer some protection. “If he were tortured or executed, the damage to Sino-Canadian relations would be massive, and would no doubt deter other countries from extraditing suspects who allegedly committed capital crimes back to China,” he said. Canada China Human rights guardian.co.uk
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Highlights of this day in history: Wiley Post completes first solo flight around the world; Robber John Dillinger shot dead; Saddam Hussein’s sons killed in Iraq; The September 11th Commission releases its report; Birth of the Frisbee. (July 22)
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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner discusses the owners approval of a tentative decade-long agreement to end the lockout, though the players did not take a vote on the deal Thursday night. (July 22)
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