Obama tells leaders to follow Mandela's example

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma, not pictured, at the Union Building on Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa. The president is in South Africa, embarking on the second leg of his three-country African journey. The visit comes at a poignant time, with former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela ailing in a Johannesburg hospital. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

El presidente Barack Obama, izquierda, habla con su contraparte de Sud?frica Jacob Zuma el s?bado, 29 de junio del 2013 en Pretoria, Sud?frica. (Foto AP/Evan Vucci)

U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma address a press conference following their meeting at Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

U.S. President Barack Obama flanked by First Lady Michelle Obama, left, waves with South African President Jacob Zuma, second right, and his wife Tobeka Madiba Zuma, right, on the steps of Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday June 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? President Barack Obama encouraged leaders in Africa and around the world Saturday to follow former South African President Nelson Mandela's example of country before self, as the U.S. president prepared to pay personal respects to relatives who have been gathered around the critically ill anti-apartheid icon.

"We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama said.

Obama spoke at a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma in the midst of a weeklong tour of the continent that also included stops in Senegal and Tanzania. But many other African nations are embroiled in religious, sectarian and other conflicts.

Obama decided to avoid stopping in his father's home nation of Kenya because of international disputes there. The International Criminal Court is prosecuting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation, rape, persecution and inhumane acts allegedly committed by his supporters in the violent aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections.

"The timing was not right for me as the president of the United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues are still being worked on, and hopefully at some point resolved," Obama said. He noted he's visited Kenya several times previously and expects he will as well in the future.

Obama and Zuma appeared at the Union Buildings that house government offices and the site of Mandela's 1994 inauguration as the country's first black president after 27 years behind bars for his activism.

The 94-year-old Mandela has been in a nearby hospital for three weeks after being admitted with a lung infection. Zuma told reporters that Mandela is in critical but stable condition and the whole nation is praying that he will improve.

Obama visited with two of Mandela's daughters and eight of his grandchildren Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, part of the former president's foundation. Obama said he told the family he hopes Mandela draws comfort from the time he's spending with loved ones.

"I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world ? including me," Obama said in a statement after the visit. "That's a legacy that we must all honor in our own lives.

Obama also spoke by telephone with Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, while she stayed at his bedside in the hospital. Machel said she drew strength from the call and that Obama added a characteristic "touch of personal warmth."

"I am humbled by their comfort and messages of strength and inspiration, which I have already conveyed" to Mandela, she said.

The White House said that in accordance with the family's wishes, Obama was not planning to visit with Mandela.

In nearby Pretoria earlier, Obama revered Mandela as "one of the greatest people in history," referred to him by his clan name as he praised South Africa's historic integration from white racist rule as a shining beacon for the world.

"The struggle here against apartheid for freedom, Madiba's moral courage, this country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me, it has been an inspiration to the world," Obama said.

"The outpouring of love that we've seen in recent days shows that the triumph of Nelson Mandela and this nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit, the yearning for justice and dignity that transcends boundaries of race and class and faith and country," Obama said. "That's what Nelson Mandela represents, that's what South African at its best represents to the world, and that's what brings me back here."

Zuma told Obama he and Mandela are "bound by history as the first black presidents of your respective countries."

"Thus, you both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed," Zuma said, reading from a prepared statement.

On other topics, Obama declined to commit to supporting South Africa's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He said the U.N.'s structure needs to be updated and it would be "odd" for an expanded Security Council not to have African representation.

"How we do that and what fashion is complicated, it's difficult and it involves all kinds of politics," Obama said.

"Everybody wants a seat at the table, but when it comes time to step up and show responsibility, sometimes people want to be free riders," Obama said, adding he wasn't referring to South Africa specifically.

Zuma responded that he wishes the process of change at the U.N. would speed up.

Obama also said he wants to boost trade with Africa and plans to renegotiate an African trade pact to improve it for American businesses. He said he welcomes competition from other nations who have been aggressive in pursuing commercial opportunities in Africa, including China.

"I don't feel threatened by it. I think it's a good thing," he said. He added: "Our only advice is make sure it's a good deal for Africa." He said that includes making sure foreign investment employs Africans and doesn't tolerate corruption or take its natural resources without compensation for Africans.

Obama also is paying tribute to South Africa's fight against apartheid by visiting the Soweto area Saturday afternoon for a town hall with students at the University of Johannesburg. At least 176 young people were killed in Soweto township 27 years ago this month during a youth protest against the apartheid regime's ban against teaching local Bantu languages. The Soweto Uprising catalyzed international support against apartheid, and June is now recognized as Youth Month in South Africa.

The university plans to bestow an honorary law degree on the U.S. president.

Protesters under police watch demonstrated outside the university against Obama's record on surveillance and foreign policy. Demonstrators from a range of trade unions and civil society groups chanted, "Away with intelligence, away," holding posters depicting Obama with an Adolf Hitler moustache.

"People died in Libya. People are still dying in Syria," said 54-year-old Ramasimong Tsokolibane. "In Egypt, in Afghanistan in Pakistan drones are still killing people. So that's why we are calling him a Hitler. He's a killer."

Obama has been trying to inspire the continent's youth to become civically active and part of a new democratically minded generation. Obama hosted young leaders from more than 40 African countries at the White House in 2010 and challenged them to bring change to their countries by standing up for freedom, openness and peaceful disagreement.

Obama wraps up his South Africa stay Sunday, when he plans to give a sweeping speech on U.S.-Africa policy at the University of Cape Town and take his family to Robben Island to tour the prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars.

Obama has visited the island before, but said it's a particular privilege to bring his daughters back to learn its lessons.

___

Associated Press Television News reporter Bram Janssen contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler and Julie Pace at https://twitter.com/jpacedc

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-29-AF-Obama/id-e98b31506a1b4405a94523f430cc9356

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JURIST - Paper Chase: US Senate approves immigration reform bill

? JURIST Legal News and Research Services, Inc., 2013. JURIST is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. E-mail inquiries, changes, news tips, URLs, corrections, etc. to JURIST@jurist.org. This site is not an official site of the University of Pittsburgh. The University of Pittsburgh is not responsible for its content. Nothing on this site is intended as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please consult an attorney.

Source: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/06/us-senate-passes-broad-immigration-bill.php

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Survival of the Galapagos sea lion

June 29, 2013 ? Immune systems of endangered Galapagos sea lions are in overdrive because of harmful activity by people, reveal scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

The study shows that Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) are more prone to starvation because of exposure to human influences like pets and pollution. These can impair the level of their immunity, making them less able to hunt and more likely to go hungry when food is scarce.

This research is published June 28 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Conservationists spent more than eighteen months on the Islands of San Cristobal, which is inhabited by humans, and Santa Fe, where there are no humans, dogs, cats, mice or rats. They tagged 60 Galapagos sea lions from each island and monitored their behaviour and physiology.

ZSL's Institute of Zoology Director, Professor Tim Blackburn says: "We are increasingly aware of the threats of infectious diseases to wildlife around the world, from amphibians in the tropics to the birds in British gardens. It is worrying that we are now potentially seeing such threats to sea lions in the supposedly pristine wilderness of the Galapagos Islands."

ZSL's Dr. Paddy Brock, author on the paper, says: "A tell-tale sign of an unhealthy sea lion is a thinner than normal layer of blubber, which is what we saw in the sea lions on San Cristobal. This was all the more notable as we didn't notice these patterns in sea lions on Santa Fe, where they live without the presence of people or pets.

""The immune systems of San Cristobel sea lions were more active, perhaps indicating a threat of infectious disease, which could mean human activity is increasing the chance of potentially dangerous diseases emerging in the Galapagos sea lion," Dr Brock added.

Despite laws designed to protect the unique wildlife found on the Galapagos, pets are regularly imported to the islands, which increases the risk of new diseases arriving and spreading to local species. In addition, dumping of sewage into the bay on San Cristobal where the sea lions live may be increasing their exposure to germs and bacteria associated with humans.

ZSL, together with collaborators, will continue to address the threats faced by the Galapagos sea lion by carrying out further research into the methods driving the described patterns, such as the role that genetics plays in shaping them.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/UgP0hAd2l9E/130629164735.htm

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Babies can read each other?s moods, study finds

June 27, 2013 ? Although it may seem difficult for adults to understand what an infant is feeling, a new study from Brigham Young University finds that it's so easy a baby could do it.

Psychology professor Ross Flom's study, published in the academic journal Infancy, shows that infants can recognize each other's emotions by five months of age. This study comes on the heels of other significant research by Flom on infants' ability to understand the moods of dogs, monkeys and classical music.

"Newborns can't verbalize to their mom or dad that they are hungry or tired, so the first way they communicate is through affect or emotion," says Flom. "Thus it is not surprising that in early development, infants learn to discriminate changes in affect."

Infants can match emotion in adults at seven months and familiar adults at six months. In order to test infant's perception of their peer's emotions, Flom and his team of researchers tested a baby's ability to match emotional infant vocalizations with a paired infant facial expression.

"We found that 5 month old infants can match their peer's positive and negative vocalizations with the appropriate facial expression," says Flom. "This is the first study to show a matching ability with an infant this young. They are exposed to affect in a peer's voice and face which is likely more familiar to them because it's how they themselves convey or communicate positive and negative emotions."

In the study, infants were seated in front of two monitors. One of the monitors displayed video of a happy, smiling baby while the other monitor displayed video of a second sad, frowning baby. When audio was played of a third happy baby, the infant participating in the study looked longer to the video of the baby with positive facial expressions. The infant also was able to match negative vocalizations with video of the sad frowning baby. The audio recordings were from a third baby and not in sync with the lip movements of the babies in either video.

"These findings add to our understanding of early infant development by reiterating the fact that babies are highly sensitive to and comprehend some level of emotion," says Flom. "Babies learn more in their first 2 1/2 years of life than they do the rest of their lifespan, making it critical to examine how and what young infants learn and how this helps them learn other things."

Flom co-authored the study of 40 infants from Utah and Florida with Professor Lorraine Bahrick from Florida International University.

Flom's next step in studying infant perception is to run the experiments with a twist: test whether babies could do this at even younger ages if instead they were watching and hearing clips of themselves.

And while the talking twin babies in this popular YouTube clip are older, it's still a lot of fun to watch them babble at each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_JmA2ClUvUY

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/ttEOJhEX-Xk/130627102835.htm

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Mandela's ex-wife: Former S. African leader better

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The former wife of critically ill Nelson Mandela says he is showing "great improvement" compared to a few days ago.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela gave the update on the former president's health Friday while speaking to media outside Mandela's former home in Soweto.

"I'm not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," said Madikizela-Mandela, who is also a member of South Africa's Parliament.

Members of Nelson Mandela's family and South African Cabinet ministers have visited the hospital where the 94-year-old former president is critically ill.

On Thursday, the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said that Mandela's condition was critical but stable.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mandelas-ex-wife-former-african-leader-better-160050353.html

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Brazilian president's plan to import doctors faces resistance

By Esteban Israel

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff's plan to import foreign doctors to work in rural and poor parts of Brazil, part of a move to quell massive street protests over poor public services, has run into stiff opposition from the powerful medical lobby.

Public dissatisfaction over the quality of healthcare has helped fuel nationwide protests over the past month and spurred Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist, to announce earlier this week the "emergency action" plan to bring in foreign doctors.

Brazil's public healthcare system, which serves some 75 percent of its 194 million people, has a shortage of 54,000 physicians, leaving it with a mere 1.8 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, according to government data.

The problem is particularly dire in remote parts of the country. In Imperatriz, a city of 250,000 in the poor northeastern state of Maranhao, the municipal hospital's intensive care unit has gone without a pediatrician for a year.

With not enough Brazilian doctors to meet these needs, health officials have seized upon the idea of importing doctors from Spain and Portugal, which have about double the number of doctors per capita but are suffering deep economic crises.

Local doctors, however, are skeptical and angry about the plan, which they see as an attempt to obscure the government's failures in healthcare. The Federal Board of Medicine, which represents 400,000 doctors, has announced a walk-out on July 3 in protest.

"Portuguese and Spanish won't come because of the work conditions," said Roberto D'Avila, president of the Federal Board of Medicine. "All this rhetoric is being employed to justify the arrival of Cuban doctors without re-training."

Early this year, authorities floated the idea of bringing up to 6,000 doctors from Cuba. D'Avila is dubious of the skills of Cuban doctors, claiming that some have the training of one of "our nurses."

"Bringing doctors from abroad would only make matters worse," Alison Soto, the director of the municipal hospital in Imperatriz, said in an interview. "It's the government's skewed view."

Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, has long been a destination for immigrants, with waves of Europeans and Japanese going there in the last century. But foreigners only represent 0.3 percent of Brazil's current labor force, far below the global average of 3 percent, according to United Nations data.

"Brazil needs to have a migratory flow 10, 15, 20 times bigger than it currently does," Ricardo Paes de Barros, secretary of strategic affairs for the president's office, said in an interview with Reuters. "That would oxygenate Brazil's society and economy."

In the last six months Brazil has taken steps in that direction, facilitating access to temporary work visas and permitting spouses of foreign professionals to work as well.

Paes de Barros wants to simplify the hiring of foreign professionals, create special visas for foreigners interested in looking for jobs in Brazil and offer work permits to foreigners who study in the country.

Changing work laws, however, likely won't be enough to fix the labor shortages. Foreigners complain about the high cost of living, violence and traffic gridlock in its cities.

And with the country's once strong economic growth cooling - GDP grew by about 0.9 percent last year - Latin America's largest economy is not as strong a lure as it was a few years ago.

A faltering economy and the government's decision to focus on preparations for the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics has stoked public anger and fueled the demonstrations.

"We could have the friendliest legislation in the world without anyone wanting to come," said Paes de Barros. "We don't only have to send the invitations - we have to make sure that the party will be a good one."

(Reporting by Esteban Israel; Additional reporting by Lucas Iberico-Lozada; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-presidents-plan-import-doctors-faces-resistance-211315356.html

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HTC One Google Play edition hands-on (video)

Samsung might have pleasantly surprised us with a Galaxy S 4 running stock Android at Google I/O last month, but it wasn't long before HTC followed suit with its own announcement regarding the One. Officially known as the HTC One Google Play edition, the phone is now available in the Play store for $599 alongside the aforementioned Galaxy S 4. When it comes to specs, the handset is a dead ringer for AT&T's 32GB version and incorporates the same radios (with LTE support). It features Qualcomm's 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 SoC with 2GB or RAM, a 4.7-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display, an Ultrapixel camera (4MP) with OIS and flash and a sealed 2300mAh Li-polymer battery. We finally played with it yesterday and came away rather smitten. Read on for our first impressions and hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: HTC One Google Play edition hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Google

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/htc-one-google-play-edition-hands-on-video/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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DC picks rock club owner to run Lincoln Theatre

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The owner of a well-known D.C. rock club will soon begin operating the city's historic Lincoln Theatre where Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald once performed.

Mayor Vincent Gray announced Thursday that the entertainment group I.M.P was selected as the winning bidder to operate the theater in the city's U Street neighborhood beginning in September. The city says I.M.P brings a proven track record. It currently operates the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.

In a statement, Seth Hurwitz of I.M.P says it's an honor to be entrusted with bringing new life to an old theater. He says many shows that don't fit in the 9:30 Club will have a place at the Lincoln.

In late 2011, the theater was threatened with closure after the city cut off subsidies and began seeking new management.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dc-picks-rock-club-owner-run-lincoln-theatre-200609219.html

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Give yourself a break and your kids some fun: Southborough Rec's ...

(Photo courtesy of the Southborough Recreation Department)

Today is the last day of Southborough?public school until August 28th. Right now, the kids are as giddy as. . . well as kids just released for the summer. Parents may not be so giddy.

Summer can crawl by or fly by. It depends on how you enjoy it. For me, occasional half day camps are a lifesaver.

Starting next week, Southborough Recreation Department offers some wonderful camps. My kids had a blast at Kids? Kamp last year. They also offer swim classes, sports camps, and even engineering camps.

You can check out Rec?s full brochure with details here.?Below is a list of the youth programs offered this summer.

Kids? Kamps (options for potty trained 2.9 yr olds to soon to be 5th graders):

• This year they have expanded the time to 4 hours, 8:30-12:30. Woo hoo!
• Certain weeks offer 2nd ? 5th graders a chance to explore activities at Fay?s Discovery Camp.

Counseler in Training program (entering grades 6-9):

• CITs will assist Kids? Kamp counselors
• An?active week of working with children, while learning games and leadership skills.
  

Educational Camps

• Engineering with Legos (options for ages 5-12)
• Engineering and building specialized moving cars (options for ages 6-12)
• On-Camera acting (ages 7-13)

Sports classes and camps:

• Swim lessons
• Horseback riding programs and camps
• Multi-sport camps
• Basketball
• Football
• Flag football
• Softball
• Baseball
• Archery
• Field Hockey
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Golf

What are your favorite things to do in the summertime? Let us know in the comments.

Source: http://www.mysouthborough.com/2013/06/26/give-yourself-a-break-and-your-kids-some-fun-southborough-recs-summer-programs/

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For nationwide gay marriage, more battles ahead

NEW YORK (AP) ? Even as they celebrate a momentous legal victory, supporters of gay marriage already are anticipating a return trip to the Supreme Court in a few years, sensing that no other option but a broader court ruling will legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.

In the meantime, as one gay-rights leader said, there will be "two Americas" ? and a host of legal complications for many gay couples moving between them.

Wednesday's twin rulings from the high court will extend federal recognition to same-sex marriages in the states where they are legal, and will add California ? the most populous state ? to the 12 others in that category. That will mean about 30 percent of Americans live in states recognizing same-sex marriage.

But the court's rulings have no direct effect on the constitutional amendments in 29 states that limit marriage to heterosexual couples. In a handful of politically moderate states such as Oregon, Nevada and Colorado those amendments could be overturned by ballot measures, but that's considered highly unlikely in more conservative states.

"It would be inefficient to try to pick off 30 constitutional amendments one by one," said Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights group. "Eventually this will have to be settled by the Supreme Court."

The Human Rights Campaign's president, Chad Griffin, told supporters outside the Supreme Court building that the goal would be to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide within five years.

To sway the justices in such a time frame, activists plan a multipronged strategy. In addition to possible ballot measures in a few states, they hope lawmakers will legalize same-sex marriage in states which now offer civil unions to gay couples, notably New Jersey, Illinois and Hawaii.

There also will be advocacy efforts in more conservative states, ranging from expansion of anti-discrimination laws to possible litigation on behalf of sex-couples there who are denied state recognition even though they married legally in some other jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court's decisions "underscore the emergence of two Americas," Griffin said. "In one, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) citizens are nearing full equality. In the other, our community lacks even the most basic protections."

Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, suggested that efforts to end that division would not be easy, given that many states have electorates that seem solidly opposed to gay marriage.

"The fight is far from over," Rauch wrote in a commentary. "By refusing to override those majorities, the court green-lighted the continuation, probably for a decade or more, of state-by-state battles over marriage."

In Florida, where voters approved a ban on gay marriage with 62 percent support in 2008, the gay-rights group Equality Florida called on its supporters to "get engaged and fight" for recognition of same-sex marriage.

The high court rulings "are a major step forward for the country, but for Floridians they fall far short of justice," said the group's executive director, Nadine Smith. "The Supreme Court has said we can go states like Minnesota or Iowa and get married, but we return to Florida legal strangers in our home state."

Florida State Rep. Joe Saunders, a Democrat from Orlando and one of the state's first openly gay lawmakers, said "every strategy is on the table" as activists ponder ways to eliminate the 2008 ban, including warnings of economic consequences.

"If 13 other states provide protections to gay and lesbian families, what does that mean for our ability to keep those families here in Florida?" he said. "Until we can promise them the same basic protections, we're going to be economically disadvantaged."

Increasingly, political swing states like Florida, as well as more solidly Republican states, could become gay-marriage battlegrounds.

One example of the forthcoming strategy: The American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday that it has hired Steve Schmidt, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to build support among GOP state politicians for striking down gay-marriage bans.

"For a full civil liberties victory, we need broad-based support from coast to coast," the ACLU's executive director, Anthony Romero, said.

On the conservative side, there was deep dismay over the Supreme Court rulings, but little indication of any new strategies or initiatives.

"The debate over marriage has only just begun," said Austin Nimocks, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which staunchly opposes same-sex marriage, called upon Americans "to stand steadfastly together in promoting and defending the unique meaning of marriage: one man, one woman, for life."

Lee Badgett, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, predicted that the ruling on federal recognition would prompt thousands of gay couples to get married, now that there were additional financial incentives to so.

This group could include couples in states which don't recognize same-sex marriage but who are willing to travel to a state that does recognize such unions.

However, Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said many gay couples either would be hard pressed to afford such trips or would forgo them out of principle.

"Many people in this country, straight or gay, want to get married in their own state, their own backyard," she said.

While gay-rights activists pursue their ultimate goal of nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage, the short-term legal situation for many gay couples could be complicated.

Peter Sprigg of the conservative Family Research Council said the court ruling on federal recognition "raises as many questions as it answers."

"Will recognition be based on the law in the state where the marriage was celebrated or the state in which the couple resides?" he said. "The doors may now be wide open for whole new rounds of litigation."

The National Conference of State Legislatures said the situation was clear for married gay couples in the 13 states recognizing same-sex marriage: They will be eligible for all federal marriage benefits.

"Outside of these states, federal marriage benefits become more complicated, as many commonly thought-of federal benefits, such as jointly filing on federal income taxes, are tied to a married couple's place of residence," the conference said.

Gay-rights activists immediately began lobbying the Obama administration and other federal officials to extend as many benefits as possible on the basis of where a gay couple's wedding took place, not on the state where they live.

"The Obama administration can make clear, through regulation, that the federal government will recognize those marriages and not participate in state-sponsored discrimination," said Suzanne Goldberg, a professor at Columbia Law School.

Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, one of the groups most active in building support for same-sex marriage, urged the administration to adopt a "clear and consistent" standard that would apply equally to all married gay couples, regardless of their state of residence.

"Marriage should not flutter in and out like cellphone service," he said. "When it comes to federal programs, even if states are discriminating, the federal government should not."

Wolfson, like many of his allies, was already looking ahead to another rendezvous with the Supreme Court, confident that public support for same-sex marriage would continue to increase.

"We have the winning strategy," he said. "We win more states, we win more hearts and minds, and we go back to the Supreme Court in a matter of years, not decades, to win the freedom to marry nationwide."

___

Follow David Crary on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/craryap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nationwide-gay-marriage-more-battles-ahead-220246102.html

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Bullied bus monitor: Generosity funded her anti-bullying foundation

Bullied bus monitor: The woman who achieved inadvertent internet fame as the 'bullied bus monitor' was given over $700,000. She has now retired and created a foundation to teach about kindness.

By Carolyn Thompson,?Associated Press / June 24, 2013

Former school bus monitor Karen Klein talks with a reporter at her home in Greece, N.Y., last week. Now retired, Klein says she used $100,000 to seed the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation to promote kindness.

David Duprey / AP

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No new carpet or furniture for the home she's lived in for 46 years. No fancy car in the driveway.

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After being gifted a life-changing sum following a school?bus?bullying episode seen around the world a year ago, former?bus?monitor?Karen Klein says she really hasn't changed all that much.

Sure, the "Today" show mug she drinks coffee from reminds her of the widespread media attention her story brought, and the occasional stranger wants to snap her picture. She's also retired, something the 69-year-old widow couldn't afford before.

But Klein, who drove a school?bus?for 20 years before spending three years as a?monitor, remains as unassuming as she was before learning firsthand how the kindness of strangers can trump the cruelty of four adolescent boys.

"It's really amazing," Klein said at her suburban Rochester home, still perplexed at the outpouring unleashed by a 10-minute cellphone video of her being ridiculed, sworn at and threatened by a group of seventh-graders last June. They poke at her hearing aid and call her names as she tries to ignore them.

"Unless you have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," Klein says calmly a few minutes in.

One boy taunts: "You don't have a family because they all killed themselves because they don't want to be near you." Klein's oldest son committed suicide more than a decade ago.

The video, recorded by a fellow student, was posted online and viewed more than 1.4 million times on YouTube.

When 25-year-old Canadian Max Sidorov was moved to take up an online collection to send her on vacation, more than 32,000 people from 84 countries responded ? pledging $703,873 in donations.

"It's just the way it hits them, I guess. I don't know. I don't know," Klein said, still unsure of why it all happened.

Sidorov has called it "ridiculously more than I expected."

Klein used $100,000 as seed money for the Karen Klein Anti-Bullying Foundation, which has promoted its message of kindness at concerts and through books. Most recently, the foundation partnered with the Moscow Ballet to raise awareness of cyberbullying as the dance company tours the United States and Canada.

"There's a lot I wish I could be doing, but I don't know how to do it," Klein said.

"I'm just a regular old lady," she added with a laugh.

She has spent some helping family members and friends, and "the rest is under lock and key" for retirement, and maybe a motor home to do some traveling, she said. She wants to get back to her crafts, fix some things around the house, maybe get new carpet and furniture, and take it easy, especially since having a pacemaker implanted in March.

"There are other people who it would probably change dramatically," said Klein's daughter, Amanda Klein-Romig. "But for her, no, everything's the same pretty much. It's not like she's jaunting every weekend to a different place."

Klein has been to Boston, Toronto and other cities to promote her foundation. She participated in a WNBA anti-bullying event with the New York Liberty in Newark, N.J., and has been invited to appear on "Raising McCain," a cable television series launching this summer starring Arizona Sen. John McCain's daughter, Meghan.

"There's a lot of nice people out there, I have learned that," Klein said. "And to ignore the negative people."

Klein has been criticized by those who say she didn't do her job that June 2012 afternoon and by others who think she sought out fame and fortune.

"They make it sound like I did this on purpose," Klein said. She didn't even know the incident had been recorded until being called in to school by administrators and the police.

"She didn't ask for this," Klein-Romig said.

Klein has met with one of the boys who bullied her. He and his parents came to her home to apologize. The other three sent typed apologies, which she said struck her as less sincere.

"I hope they learned a lesson; they probably didn't," Klein says, shrugging. "It might have been a big joke to them."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ls108giZ_9Y/Bullied-bus-monitor-Generosity-funded-her-anti-bullying-foundation

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra: hands-on with a 6.4-inch Android phone (update: video)

Sony's been explaining the design story behind its new Xperia range at a UK briefing, how it's trying to balance both the dematerialization of tech (touchscreens, gesture interfaces) and a design that's both desirable and beautiful -- and Sony's certainly got the latter down on its new smartphone. The Xperia Z Ultra follows the lines of the rest of the Z series. It has the same "OmniBalance" plane, uniform screen surface, but this time it measures in at 6.4 inches across, but still running at 1080p resolution. Yep, it does feel substantially bigger than the original Xperia Z -- check out our comparison gallery, the new Ultra model dwarfs it. You're looking at a screen width almost identical to a passport and that 6.5mm profile meant we could cram it into our trouser pockets without an issue. It's certainly a bigger device than the likes of LG's Optimus G Pro or Samsung's Galaxy Note II and you're going to have to test it out for yourself to see if you'd be willing to talk into this Xperia like phone -- it's definitely going to catch the eye.

There's also Qualcomm's notable Snapdragon 800 powering the device on a relatively large 3,000mAh battery, while Sony's simplified the design dropping a few of those much-maligned protective flaps, at least on the headphone socket. There are more impressions and a hands-on video after the break!

Gallery: Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on

Gallery: Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs. Xperia Z... fight!

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4dQE8wJ3zdY/

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The Other Mexicans

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The Other Mexicans
The number of Mexicans of indigenous origin in the U.S. is growing fast, but they are largely overlooked in the debate on immigration reform.

Source: National Geographic News
Posted on: Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013, 8:07am
Views: 11

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128772/The_Other_Mexicans_

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