EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Your turn, Josh Freeman.
Freeman was named the latest starting quarterback for the scuffling Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday. Freeman's second week with the team will culminate on Monday night with him leading the offense against the New York Giants.
"It really hasn't been that difficult. Any time you step into a situation where you're the new guy, there's always kind of an awkward getting-to-know-you phase," Freeman said. "But I think that goes back to the character of this organization just from top to bottom: a lot of quality people that are dedicated to winning first and foremost but also being quality human beings off the field. So it's been a smooth adjustment."
Coach Leslie Frazier also said that Christian Ponder will be the backup, not Matt Cassel, assuming Freeman makes it through the week without problems.
"I like the things he's done in his career, along with what he's done since he arrived here with our football team, the time he put in, how well he's adapted to our system," Frazier said. "He's done enough for us to say we want to give him this opportunity, which is something we had in mind when we acquired him. I think now is the time."
Freeman will be the third starter in the last four games for the Vikings (1-4) and the 11th since Daunte Culpepper's season-ending knee injury in 2005. Freeman was cut by Tampa Bay on Oct. 3 and signed by Minnesota to a one-year contract five days later.
"We're just going to make plays for whoever's in there and just make it as easy as possible," wide receiver Jerome Simpson said.
Freeman started 59 games over four-plus seasons with the Buccaneers. The 25-year-old former first-round draft pick threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2010, his first full season as a starter, but has been up and down since. The Vikings were on the wrong end of one of his best games last year, a 36-17 victory at Minnesota when he passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
"The underlying questions I've been getting from a lot of people: 'Do I have a chip on my shoulder?' I'm sure I do," Freeman said. "But I think it's more deeply rooted than just the past six months, 12 months."
Frazier said he was impressed by Freeman's first practice with the team.
"From the moment he stepped in the building, he wanted to learn. And the way he handled himself in that practice, it changed my mindset about the possibilities," Frazier said. "We had a timeframe in mind originally but watching what he did from the day he arrived, that cemented it for me that sooner was a possibility."
Frazier said he hasn't considered a scenario in which Ponder wouldn't still be on the roster for the rest of the season. Ponder said he wasn't sure about his future here. The trade deadline is Oct. 29. He's under contract with the Vikings through at least 2014.
"I have to figure out what's best for me and everything and for this team. I don't know if that's staying here and going somewhere else," Ponder said.
Ponder started the first three games until he broke a rib. Cassel took over and led the Vikings to their only victory. Frazier said he preferred to keep the factors in his decision to put Ponder ahead of Cassel on the depth chart private.
The coach also said he had full authority to make Freeman the starter. He acknowledged, though, that owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf and general manager Rick Spielman were consulted.
"When you're talking about the quarterback position, which affects your entire franchise, this is not a decision you make alone," Frazier said.
Running back Adrian Peterson was missing from practice because of a personal matter. Frazier said he expected him back on Thursday. The coach declined to specify whether his absence was related to the situation in South Dakota regarding his 2-year-old son, who died last week by alleged abuse. A man is in custody in South Dakota.
Safety Harrison Smith was also not present for the beginning of practice reporters were allowed to watch. With the game on Monday this week, the Vikings aren't required to produce an injury report until Thursday. Smith suffered a turf toe injury to his left foot on Sunday. Frazier said he'd provide an update on Thursday.
___
Online:
AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org
___
Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP
Contact: Stewart Bland s.bland@elsevier.com 44-186-584-3124 Elsevier
Journal Carbon publishes a recommended nomenclature for 2D carbon forms
Oxford, October 16, 2013 - There has been an intense research interest in all two-dimensional (2D) forms of carbon since Geim and Novoselov's discovery of graphene in 2004. But as the number of such publications rise, so does the level of inconsistency in naming the material of interest. The isolated, single-atom-thick sheet universally referred to as "graphene" may have a clear definition, but when referring to related 2D sheet-like or flake-like carbon forms, many authors have simply defined their own terms to describe their product.
This has led to confusion within the literature, where terms are multiply-defined, or incorrectly used. The Editorial Board of Carbon has therefore published the first recommended nomenclature for 2D carbon forms.
The editorial team spent eight months working on setting the definitions. They believe that agreeing on a rational scientific nomenclature could enable more rapid development in the field, and with a "higher degree of common understanding". Editor-in-Chief of Carbon, Professor Robert Hurt (Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, School of Engineering, Brown University, USA) succinctly summarizes the need for this work with the phrase: "Precise names promote precise ideas."
A series of basic guiding principles to define the terms was used in the study, where possible making use of established definitions, and clarifying rather than replacing existing terms. The study also recognizes that researchers will want to continue using the word "graphene" in publications, and so have recommended "graphene materials" as the overarching phrase to describe 2D carbons. In this way, the publication offers itself as a practical guide for naming such materials, for carbon scientists in all fields and at all stages in their careers.
One proposal is that all definitions of graphene materials should go beyond crystallography, and should include morphological descriptors for shape and size namely the thickness (layer number), lateral dimensions and in-plane shape of these carbon layers.
To move graphene materials beyond the early discovery phase and into applications, internationally-recognized definitions of each carbon form will be needed. In the 1990s, the lack of agreed definitions for nanofibers, nanorods and nanotubes led to several International Standards on the topic, which, when published, brought consistency to the field.
"This study is a great way to open the discussion on graphene terminology, and welcomes any formal standardization efforts for 2D carbons in the future," concludes Prof Hurt c "We would be delighted if the community at large saw sufficient value in the recommendations to use them more broadly."
###
Notes for Editors
This article is "All in the graphene family A recommended nomenclature for two-dimensional carbon materials" by Alberto Bianco, Hui-Ming Cheng, Toshiaki Enoki, Yury Gogotsi, Robert H. Hurt, Nikhil Koratkar, Takashi Kyotani, Marc Monthioux, Chong Rae Park, Juan M.D. Tascon and Jin Zhang. It appears in Carbon, Volume 65, December 2013, Pages 1-6 (2013) published by Elsevier. The article is available for free at http://www.materialstoday.com . An interview with Carbon Editor-in-Chief, Prof Robert Hurt, is available here.
About Carbon
An International Journal Founded in Conjunction with the American Carbon Society
The journal Carbon is an international multidisciplinary forum for communicating scientific advances in the field of carbon materials and carbon nanomaterials. The journal reports significant new findings related to the formation, structure, properties, behaviors, and technological applications of carbons, which are a broad class of ordered or disordered solid phases composed primarily of elemental carbon. These materials can be either synthetic or of natural origin, and include, but are not limited to, graphene and graphene-oxide, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers and filaments, graphite, porous carbons, pyrolytic carbon, glassy carbon, carbon black, diamond and diamond-like carbon, fullerenes, and chars. Papers on composites will be considered if the carbon component is a major focus of the paper's scientific content. Papers on organic substances may be considered if they are precursors for such carbon materials. Relevant application areas for carbon materials include, but are not limited to, electronic and photonic devices, structural and thermal applications, smart materials and systems, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, environmental protection, and biology and medicine.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, helping research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs more than 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 in North America. Reed Elsevier Group PLC is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. Their shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.
Media contact
Stewart Bland
Elsevier
+44 1865 843124
s.bland@elsevier.com
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Defining the graphene family tree
Public release date: 16-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Stewart Bland s.bland@elsevier.com 44-186-584-3124 Elsevier
Journal Carbon publishes a recommended nomenclature for 2D carbon forms
Oxford, October 16, 2013 - There has been an intense research interest in all two-dimensional (2D) forms of carbon since Geim and Novoselov's discovery of graphene in 2004. But as the number of such publications rise, so does the level of inconsistency in naming the material of interest. The isolated, single-atom-thick sheet universally referred to as "graphene" may have a clear definition, but when referring to related 2D sheet-like or flake-like carbon forms, many authors have simply defined their own terms to describe their product.
This has led to confusion within the literature, where terms are multiply-defined, or incorrectly used. The Editorial Board of Carbon has therefore published the first recommended nomenclature for 2D carbon forms.
The editorial team spent eight months working on setting the definitions. They believe that agreeing on a rational scientific nomenclature could enable more rapid development in the field, and with a "higher degree of common understanding". Editor-in-Chief of Carbon, Professor Robert Hurt (Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, School of Engineering, Brown University, USA) succinctly summarizes the need for this work with the phrase: "Precise names promote precise ideas."
A series of basic guiding principles to define the terms was used in the study, where possible making use of established definitions, and clarifying rather than replacing existing terms. The study also recognizes that researchers will want to continue using the word "graphene" in publications, and so have recommended "graphene materials" as the overarching phrase to describe 2D carbons. In this way, the publication offers itself as a practical guide for naming such materials, for carbon scientists in all fields and at all stages in their careers.
One proposal is that all definitions of graphene materials should go beyond crystallography, and should include morphological descriptors for shape and size namely the thickness (layer number), lateral dimensions and in-plane shape of these carbon layers.
To move graphene materials beyond the early discovery phase and into applications, internationally-recognized definitions of each carbon form will be needed. In the 1990s, the lack of agreed definitions for nanofibers, nanorods and nanotubes led to several International Standards on the topic, which, when published, brought consistency to the field.
"This study is a great way to open the discussion on graphene terminology, and welcomes any formal standardization efforts for 2D carbons in the future," concludes Prof Hurt c "We would be delighted if the community at large saw sufficient value in the recommendations to use them more broadly."
###
Notes for Editors
This article is "All in the graphene family A recommended nomenclature for two-dimensional carbon materials" by Alberto Bianco, Hui-Ming Cheng, Toshiaki Enoki, Yury Gogotsi, Robert H. Hurt, Nikhil Koratkar, Takashi Kyotani, Marc Monthioux, Chong Rae Park, Juan M.D. Tascon and Jin Zhang. It appears in Carbon, Volume 65, December 2013, Pages 1-6 (2013) published by Elsevier. The article is available for free at http://www.materialstoday.com . An interview with Carbon Editor-in-Chief, Prof Robert Hurt, is available here.
About Carbon
An International Journal Founded in Conjunction with the American Carbon Society
The journal Carbon is an international multidisciplinary forum for communicating scientific advances in the field of carbon materials and carbon nanomaterials. The journal reports significant new findings related to the formation, structure, properties, behaviors, and technological applications of carbons, which are a broad class of ordered or disordered solid phases composed primarily of elemental carbon. These materials can be either synthetic or of natural origin, and include, but are not limited to, graphene and graphene-oxide, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers and filaments, graphite, porous carbons, pyrolytic carbon, glassy carbon, carbon black, diamond and diamond-like carbon, fullerenes, and chars. Papers on composites will be considered if the carbon component is a major focus of the paper's scientific content. Papers on organic substances may be considered if they are precursors for such carbon materials. Relevant application areas for carbon materials include, but are not limited to, electronic and photonic devices, structural and thermal applications, smart materials and systems, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, environmental protection, and biology and medicine.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, helping research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs more than 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 in North America. Reed Elsevier Group PLC is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. Their shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.
Media contact
Stewart Bland
Elsevier
+44 1865 843124
s.bland@elsevier.com
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Understanding Each Other"
You may edit this first post as you see fit.
“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Tuesday as bond market trading volume dropped, hurting revenue at the No. 3 U.S. bank and across Wall Street.
The bank's bond trading revenue dropped 26 percent, or $956 million (597.7 million pounds), excluding an accounting adjustment, and revenue at most of its major businesses dropped.
The fall in fixed-income revenue could spell trouble for investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, which post results later this week. Volumes dropped after the Federal Reserve said it plans to continue its bond buying stimulus program, giving assurance to investors that they can hold onto their bonds for a little longer.
Late in the quarter, investors also grew increasingly concerned about the government's fiscal impasse, which made many reluctant to trade.
"I don't think anybody wanted to get in front of that," said Diane Jaffee, who oversees about $6.5 billion of relative value mutual funds for TCW, and counts Citigroup among her top 10 holdings. The budget and debt ceiling crises continue to weigh on trading volumes in the fourth quarter, analysts said.
Investors pointed to Citi's efforts to control costs as the most positive part of the quarterly earnings. Similar moves could be imminent at other banks, especially as Wall Street bonus season - typically a huge part of their budgets - approaches.
In last year's third quarter Citigroup took a $4.7 billion charge before taxes, related to selling its Smith Barney brokerage business. For the bank's board, that hit was the last straw in a series of perceived missteps that ended up costing Vikram Pandit, then the bank's chief executive, his job.
Pandit's successor, Michael Corbat, has struggled to improve Citigroup's fortunes in an environment where client business is tepid and new regulations are raising banks' expenses. Those regulations are designed to make the banking system safer after the financial crisis, which forced Citigroup to seek government rescues three times.
'UNEVEN' BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Corbat told analysts in a conference call that business conditions would remain "uneven" for the rest of the year.
"While many of the factors which influence our revenues are not within our full control, we certainly can control our costs, and I am pleased with our expense discipline and improved efficiency year-to-date," Corbat said in a statement.
The bank's expenses fell nearly $500 million from the second quarter to $11.66 billion as performance-based compensation and transaction costs fell, partly reflecting a weak revenue environment, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach told analysts.
Citigroup, which has said it was aiming to reduce costs by $1.2 billion annually, said on Tuesday it plans to cut areas like marketing expenses in the fourth quarter. But Gerspach said that no major new expense reduction plans are expected in the quarter.
Investors said that from the outside, it is hard to evaluate how the bank's cost-cutting is affecting its daily operations.
"All these banks are doing a lot on that front (cost cutting), including Citigroup, but it's hard to see from the outside what is happening," said David Ellison, portfolio manager in Boston at Hennessy Funds, which has about $4 billion under management and owns Citigroup shares.
"There's a dumpster in the driveway, but all the activity is in the house, and you can't tell what's happening inside."
CUSTOMER TRADING SLOWDOWN
The third quarter is typically a slow one for bond trading, a state that was only exacerbated by the Fed announcement, according to analysts.
Under generally accepted accounting principles, Citigroup's net income rose to $3.23 billion, or $1.00 per share, from $468 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding the Smith Barney charge, as well as the impact of tax benefits and changes in the value of Citigroup debts and those of trading partners, third-quarter earnings slipped to $3.26 billion, or $1.02 per share, from $3.27 billion, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier. On that basis, revenue fell 5 percent to $18.22 billion.
Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.04 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. A spokeswoman for the bank said that estimate was comparable to the adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share.
Citigroup shares were up 14 cents to $49.74 in midday trading.
On some fronts, Corbat is making progress. Citigroup has winnowed down the assets it is looking to shed, known as Citi Holdings, to $122 billion, down 29 percent from a year earlier and down 7 percent from the second quarter. Citi Holdings now accounts for a little more than 6 percent of the bank's overall assets, compared with about 9 percent in last year's third quarter.
But results were weak at many businesses at Citicorp, the bank's main operations. Revenue for its retail banking business fell 7 percent to $9.24 billion, and revenue for its securities and banking business fell 2 percent to $4.75 billion.
Revenue at its transaction services business was $2.613 billion, about $6 million below the same quarter last year. The bank's transaction services business, long a key driver of profitability, is facing intense competition now.
The bank earned enough taxable income in the United States to use about $500 million of its deferred tax assets, which amount to tax credits and other benefits that Citigroup can only use when it earns enough money domestically. The bank had about $54 billion of deferred tax assets at the end of June, most of which relate to U.S. taxes.
(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by John Wallace and Andrew Hay)
Pogo sticks, headbands and hugs! NXT Diva Bayley is living the dream alongside the premier Superstars and Divas of WWE NXT. In the second edition of NXT 10-Count, Bayley answers 10 questions submitted by you, the WWE Universe. Ring the bell, the 10-Count starts now!
WWE UNIVERSE: Who inspired you to wrestle?
BAYLEY: My parents, along with “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Rock, The Hardy Boyz, Lita, Eddie Guerrero, Ivory, Victoria and Triple H.
WWE UNIVERSE: Who is your favorite WWE Diva and why?
BAYLEY: Currently my favorite is AJ Lee because she's taken on the Divas division full speed and she’s made a huge impact. Plus, she gave me a hug one time!
WWE UNIVERSE: T-Rex or Velociraptor? Go.
BAYLEY: T-Rex.
WWE UNIVERSE: Is there anyone you wouldn't hug?
BAYLEY: You know when you first meet someone and they shake your hand? Hugging is how I shake hands. I live hug life. So no, there isn’t anyone I wouldn’t hug. But I’m not too sure if I'll be hugging Summer Rae anytime soon after she broke my headband.
Check out Bayley's NXT photos
WWE UNIVERSE: Who would you love to face in the WWE Divas division, past or present, and why?
BAYLEY: Ivory! She was amazing in the ring. She would be a huge challenge and I could learn a lot from her. She was also one of the nicest people I've ever met – very happy and energetic.
WWE UNIVERSE: What do you like to do when you are not wrestling?
BAYLEY: Most of the time, if I’m not wrestling, I’m somewhere thinking of how I can get better or watching tape or writing down ideas. I like simple things, like finding new coffee places to try or new restaurants. I like to run trails outdoors, juggle, play basketball and hang with some awesome people I've met here. I used to love pogo sticking when I was a kid and I still do. That’s actually one of my favorite things to do.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The broad, automatic spending cuts known as sequestration have re-emerged as a central issue in efforts to end the partial government shutdown and avert a federal default.
Many conservatives view the past seven months of lower spending levels as one of their rare accomplishments in dealing with President Barack Obama and want to continue them.
But GOP defense hawks complain that the next round of automatic cuts falls almost entirely on the Pentagon, and many Republicans want to shift that burden to domestic programs.
Obama and Democrats would do away with them altogether, substituting new taxes and maybe some spending cuts elsewhere in their place. Republicans are agreeable — Democrats much less so — to trimming future Social Security benefits or making wealthier retirees pay higher premiums for Medicare in place of the automatic cuts.
Sequestration deals mostly with the day-to-day operating budgets of federal agencies. The Veterans Administration is exempt, as are the biggest "mandatory" benefit programs like Social Security, food stamps and Medicaid. The president's health care program — "Obamacare" —also is exempt.
The impact of the automatic cuts that went into effect in March was not as harsh as many people feared. Some agencies were able to move money around to prevent or reduce furloughs.
For many Americans, however, the impacts have been real. Health research has slowed, thousands of Head Start slots have been eliminated and poor people have been left hanging on waiting lists for housing subsidy vouchers.
The future is uncertain but easing or eliminating a new round of automatic spending cuts in January is likely to be a focus of any budget talks once the government reopens fully. Giving agencies more flexibility to adjust to reduced funding levels also is being discussed.
A brief primer on the automatic spending cuts and what might happen next:
—Sequestration was established by the 2011 Budget Control Act to reduce government spending by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The cuts were to be divided between defense and domestic programs and achieved through caps on the money Congress can appropriate each year.
—For fiscal 2013 ending Sept. 30, sequestration lowered Congress' spending cap from $1.043 trillion to $988 billion. Of the $55 billion in spending cuts, $22 billion was from a 4.5 percent cut in domestic programs and $33 billion was from a 6 percent cut in military spending. That reduced the Pentagon's budget this past year from $552 billion to $519 billion. In addition, benefit programs were cut $17 billion. Of that, $11 billion was from fee reductions for Medicare providers like doctors and hospitals. The other $6 billion was spread among smaller programs like farm subsidies. Altogether the sequester produced total budget savings of $72 billion in 2013.
—For fiscal 2014, the sequester lowers the cap on what Congress can spend to $967 billion. Virtually all of the additional savings would come from new and deeper cuts to the military. The Pentagon's budget would drop from $519 billion to $498 billion.
—The debate: House Republicans want to maintain the $967 billion cap for fiscal 2014 but shift all the sequester cuts from the Pentagon to domestic programs. Democrats want to do away with the sequester entirely and set the spending cap at $1.06 trillion.
Congressional leaders tentatively have agreed to extend the 2013 cap of $988 billion for three months while they attempt to negotiate a broader deal for easing or replacing the automatic spending cuts.
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Chateau Latour owner Francois Pinault has hired a family member from his newly-acquired Araujo Estate to improve his communications strategy.
Jamie Araujo(pictured), the daughter of Bart and Daphne Araujo, who sold their high-end Napa winery to Francois Pinault’s Artemis group earlier this year, began her role this month.
Araujo founded wine marketing consultancy Terravina out of Paris in 2004, as France’s wine industry sought answers to New World competition in key export markets.
'Often, high-end estates can be overwhelmed by demands from press and collectors, and don't have time to sit back and look at the overview of how best to organise things,’ Araujo told decanter.com. ‘My role is to bring an external eye.'
She added, 'the number of requests means it is possible to miss things if there is not a careful system in place'. She said it was too early to say if one strategy could be applied across all four estates. ‘These are four very different properties, with different cultures.’
Araujo, who studied oenology in Bordeaux, took an MBA at INSEAD business school ans has also worked for Moet Hennessy, will also handle private clients at her parents’ old winery in Napa. It sells 50% of its wines direct.
A spokesperson for Latour confirmed that Araujo ‘will advise us through Terravina on some marketing and communication topics’.
This week's round-up of Good Reads includes China's desire to become the world's main superpower, Edward Snowden's confessional video, the ease of making cyberweapons, eradicating global poverty, and the demise of Norwegian fishermen.
By Allison Terry,?Correspondent / June 26, 2013
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits with President Obama in California.
Evan Vucci/AP
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China's Worldview
China?s new president, Xi Jinping, has a bold vision for his country, inspired by its ancient prestige. In Time magazine, Hannah Beech describes how Mr. Xi intends for China to match US military capabilities, becoming the strongest country economically, politically, and culturally.
Skip to next paragraph Allison Terry
Correspondent
Allison Terry works on the national news desk for the Christian Science Monitor. She also contributes to the culture section and Global News blog.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
This ?China Dream,? depending on how Xi shapes his tenure as president, could lead to shifts in international dynamics. ?How China sees the world matters because Chinese aspirations, tastes and fears will shape the lives of billions of people across the globe. Indeed ... China ? and its worldview ? may once again dictate the narrative of our age,? Ms. Beech writes.
But despite its desire to become the world?s main superpower, China must deal with internal issues first, Beech writes. Chief among these is stanching the exodus of the country?s elite ? 150,000 Chinese received permanent residency abroad in 2011. ?When a nation?s elite is ready to bolt at a moment?s notice, it says much about the regime?s lack of legitimacy and its staying power,? David Shambaugh, a China scholar, told Beech.
Hero or traitor?
In a carefully executed leak, former National Security Administration contractor Edward Snowden unveiled documents showing how US government programs mine communication data including people?s e-mails, Facebook posts, and even Skype chats. Digital surveillance is not new, especially during this era of heightened national security awareness. Gathering electronic information is legal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but Mr. Snowden said the government is redefining what is constitutional, creating ?architecture of oppression.?
In an identity-revealing video interview with Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian, Mr. Snowden explained why people should be worried about the government?s actions.?
?Even if you are not doing anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded. And the storage capabilities of these systems increases every year, consistently by orders of magnitude,? Snowden said, adding that just a wrong call could raise suspicion. ?Then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you?ve ever made, every friend you?ve ever discussed something with, and attack you on that basis to sort of derive suspicion from an innocent life and paint anyone in the context of a wrongdoer.?
The fallout of his actions is not yet known as the United States arranges to press charges against the whistle-blower. Whether he is a hero or a traitor depends on how one weighs the balance between civil liberties and national security.
JERUSALEM (AP) ? One of Israel's two chief rabbis has suspended himself over a police probe into an alleged money laundering scheme.
Yona Metzger's lawyers said Sunday he decided to refrain from carrying out any official roles during the police inquiry. Metzger was questioned last week over fraud and bribery allegations. Police raided his home and office following a months-long undercover investigation into his financial dealings. He denies the allegations.
Metzger is only weeks away from ending his 10-year term as the country's chief rabbi for Israel's Ashkenazi, or European-descended, Jews. Along with a second chief rabbi from the Sephardic, or Middle Eastern lineage, Metzger has led the country's supreme body for overseeing Jewish services.
In 2005, Metzger was also questioned over fraud allegations. No charges were filed.
Edward Snowden is reportedly seeking political asylum in Ecuador after arriving to Moscow today. The US has revoked his passport. The former NSA contractor has been on the run since he first revealed details of Verizon's participation in a telecommunications industry program to store information on all telephone calls, and then broke news of the NSA/Silicon Valley PRISM system that watches over the whole Interent. Developing...
Monday, June 24, 2013 10:26AM?Snowden had a ticket to Havana, but he didn't use it. It was a trick to fool reporters.
Snowden's final destination may not be Havana, however. The current speculation is that he may go to Caracas after landing in Havana. Other rumors point to Iceland. Wikileaks claims his final destination is Ecuador. Julian Assange and his organization claim they are helping him.
And it's not just data that flows between the California technology giants and the NSA. Facebook's former security chief, Max Kelly, left the social network to take a similar jobwith the National Security Agency.
Tuesday, June 18, 10:45 PM?The surveillance of Americans' phone calls and Internet activity is "transparent," President Barack Obama said on television Monday night. The names of these secret programs revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden are turning up on job sites all over the Internet.
The NSA and FBI has had access to private accounts on Facebook, Microsoft,Google and Apple during the last six months, and appears to be expanding and extending online surveillance that first began with the controversial Patriot Act programs launched after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Monday, June 17, 10:45PM?Edward Snowden?the NSA contractor employee who revealed the secret US government spy program Prism on June 6?now says that more details are coming.
11:23 AM?Answering The Guardian readers' questions, Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden claims that more details are coming no matter what happens to him: "All I can say right now is the US Government is not going to be able to cover this up by jailing or murdering me. Truth is coming, and it cannot be stopped."
10:42 AM?Today, Apple has admitted that the government obtained data from 9,000 to 10,000 devices as part of investigations on "robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer?s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide." The company also claims it doesn't chat messages or videoconferences and that "it doesn't store Maps, location, or Siri data in any way that could identify you."
Saturday, June 15, 2013 3:00 PM?The Associate Press has numerous sources detailing that Prism's collaboration with tech companies is just the tip of the iceberg?the NSA actually captures every single bit of data that comes in and out the United States, storing it for analysis:
...larger NSA effort that snatches data as it passes through the fiber optic cables that make up the Internet's backbone. That program, which has been known for years, copies Internet traffic as it enters and leaves the United States, then routes it to the NSA for analysis.
Thursday, June 13, 2013 1:55 PM?The Silicon Valley giants are telling a very different story than the NSA, which explained in top secret Power Point presentations exactly how the data comes from the biggest Internet companies to the government's massive spying operations.
Patriot Or Traitor: Edward Snowden and the NSA Prism Surveillance Web
Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 7:25 PM?More Americans see Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden as a patriot than as a traitor, according to a new opinion poll. But the 29-year-old former intelligence contractor who leaked the details of the NSA's massive data mining operation is still unknown to most Americans?46% have no opinion on his motivations.
1:40 PM?Prism whistleblower Edward Snowden has resurfaced in Hong Kong, telling the South China Morning Post that he's "revealing criminality" and has no other motives. He plans to stay in Hong Kong and has more secrets to reveal.
Since the shocking revelations were revealed a week ago, Snowden has been vilified as a defector but also hailed by supporters such as WikiLeaks? Julian Assange.
?I?m neither traitor nor hero. I?m an American,? he said, adding that he was proud to be an American. ?I believe in freedom of expression. I acted in good faith but it is only right that the public form its own opinion.?
Snowden tells the Hong Kong paper, ?I will never feel safe."
Ron Paul Fears Edward Snowden Will Be Assassinated
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 11:39 PM?Congressman Ron Paul, the Texas Republican who first became a hero to young computer technicians in 2007, said today that he fears that the United States government will assassinate Edward Snowden using either a "cruise missile or a drone missile."
Google, Microsoft and Facebook released open letters today asking the U.S. government to get the tech firms off the hook for cooperating with widespread electronic spying on Americans by the biggest tech firms as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
In Maryland, the father of Snowden's girlfriend described Snowden as a man of "strong convictions of right and wrong." But because Snowden is generally "shy and reserved," Jonathan Mills said he was shocked by the revelations.
Lindsay Mills, the 29-year-old girlfriend of Snowden, reportedly texted her father but did not reveal her whereabouts. Snowden disappeared from his Hong Kong hotel at least a day ago, and has yet to surface.
6:40 PM?While the world's attention turned to Edward Snowden's pole-dancing ballerina girlfriend today, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a legal backlash against the NSA and FBI's widespread domestic spying as Google and Apple sought permission from the U.S. government to disclose at least some of what's going on.
The ACLU lawsuit is the first challenge to the widespread phone company spying revealed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old American who has single-handedly brought the nation's attention back to the long forgotten issue of constant surveillance.
2:31 PM?The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald wrote the shocking stories based on Snowden's leaks, but Greenwald knows firsthand that surveillance dragnets allegedy created to target foreign terrorists are just as easily?and clumsily?turned on U.S. citizens critical of an overreaching government that increasingly seems to exist only to protect itself from the nation it ostensibly serves. The Nation's Lee Fang describes what was revealed just two years ago:
Two years ago, a batch of stolen e-mails revealed a plot by a set of three defense contractors (Palantir Technologies, Berico Technologies, and HBGary Federal) to target activists, reporters, labor unions, and political organizations. The plans ? one concocted in concert with lawyers for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to sabotage left-leaning critics, like the Center for American Progress and the SEIU, and a separate proposal to "combat" WikiLeaks and its supporters, including Glenn Greenwald, on behalf of Bank of America ? fell apart after reports of their existence were published online. But the episode serves as a reminder that the expanding spy industry could use its government-backed cyber tools to harm ordinary Americans and political dissident groups.
The episode also shows that Greenwald, who helped Snowden expose massive spying efforts in the U.S., had been targetted by spy agency contractors in the past for supporting whistleblowers and WikiLeaks.
Majority of Americans Support NSA Spying
Monday, June 10, 2013 5:42 PM?NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has left his Hong Kong hotel as Republican members of Congress call for his extradition and the White House. The 29-year-old contractor for U.S. intelligence services provided details of Washington's decade-long spree of data collection on the phone calls and Internet use of all Americans, and now fears for his life.
Nearly 19,000 people have signed the "Pardon Edward Snowden" petition at WhiteHouse.gov. Daniel Ellsberg, whose life was upended by his decision to leak the Pentagon's bleak assessment of its war in Vietnam, today is praising Snowden's "conscience and patriotism."
Meanwhile, a solid majority of Americans surveyed by Pew Research Center say they're just fine with the constant surveillance of telephone calls and Internet use?56% of Americans support the illegal domestic spying, but only 27% of Americans claim to be closely following the scandal.
3:04 PM?Palantir, the Silicon Valley startup named for an evil all-seeing rock from Lord of the Rings reportedly behind the NSA's Prism program to spy on all Internet activity, takes the hobbit life very seriously. A company director explained in 2010 that a surveillance program called "Save the Shire" saw America's perceived enemies as orcs and dark wizards.
Sunday, June 9, 10:00PM?Edward Snowden: This is the man who told the world about PRISM, the NSA spy network capable of grabbing all your personal data?including private messages, photos and videos?with the help of America's top tech companies.
According to the Guardian, Snowden worked for the last four years at the National Security Agency. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," Snowden told The Guardian. ?I don?t want public attention because I don?t want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the U.S. government is doing.?
Following the revelation of his identity, Edward Snowden was hiding in a Hong Kong hotel.
Despite Denials, Tech Companies Collaborated With NSA
Saturday, June 8, 3:30 PM?The Guardian has revealed the existence of a second NSA surveillance network. Its name is Boundless Informant and, unlike PRISM, it covers the entire planet. Unlike PRISM, however, this network doesn't capture the data but merely organizes it, indexing countries by the metadata obtained from local phone and computer networks.
3:10 AM?The New York Times says that Facebook, Google and Apple are collaborating with the NSA, rebutting the companies' carefully worded statements. According to their sources, companies like Facebook built specific systems so the government could easily request and access their data.
This information contradicts Zuckerberg's denial, posted on his Facebook page Friday afternoon, which has the vague sound of many, many lawyers parsing their own language:
Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access [added emphasis] to our servers. We have never received a blanket request or court order from any government agency asking for information or metadata in bulk, like the one Verizon reportedly received. And if we did, we would fight it aggressively. We hadn't even heard of PRISM before yesterday.
First, we have not joined any program that would give the U.S. government?or any other government?direct access [added emphasis] to our servers. Indeed, the U.S. government does not have direct access or a ?back door? to the information stored in our data centers. We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday.
According to the Times, the key words here are direct access. The government didn't have a backdoor to access the data, but these companies built a system for them:
[C]ompanies were essentially asked to erect a locked mailbox and give the government the key, people briefed on the negotiations said. Facebook, for instance, built such a system for requesting and sharing the information, they said.
Obama Says PRISM Exists To "Keep Us Safe"
Friday, June 7, 3:31 PM?A mysterious Facebook-connected startup called Palantir?a Lord of the Rings reference to a magical method of surveillance?appears to be the entity that runs the NSA's PRISM program just revealed to be spying on all Americans at all times, with Barack Obama's approval. Obama was in Silicon Valley this morning shaking down the tech billionaires for campaign money:
1:36 PM?Obama claimed the massive, unprecedented national surveillance system involves only "modest encroachments on privacy." As for any political fallout in Congress, Obama also made it clear that "your duly elected representatives have been consistently informed on exactly what we're doing."
12:41 AM?Barack Obama, speaking live in Silicon Valley right now, said the electronic snooping "helps protect us from terrorism" and insists all the eavesdropping of every mobile call, email, instant message and file attachment is completely legal. Obama is in San Jose raising campaign money from the Internet billionaires who allow the NSA to spy on all Americans.
Newly exposed proof that all the major telecommunication companies in America continue to hand over all phone data to the National Security Agency means that the White House's illegal mass wiretapping of people suspected of no crime has continued for a dozen years.
Along with monitoring of web traffic, email and searches through the major telecom carriers, all phone calls been wiretapped with full cooperation of the communications companies since at least 2001. That the practice is illegal hasn't stopped the White House or NSA from continuing the wholesale surveillance. Congress reliably moves to make illegal spying legal whenever there's a scandal like the current Verizon outrage.
White House Says Spying On Millions of Verizon Calls a "Critical Tool"
Wednesday, June 6, 2013 9:03 AM?America's spy agencies have had full access to US cellphone call data to and from Verizon customers since April, the Guardian reports. The Obama Administration is defending the National Security Agency phone spying as a "critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats to the United States."
The secret order was obtained by the British newspaper and reported Wednesday night.
The Obama administration on Thursday acknowledged that it is collecting a massive amount of telephone records from at least one carrier, reopening the debate over privacy even as it defended the practice as necessary to protect Americans against attack. Read...
The White House on Thursday defended the National Security Agency's need to collect telephone records of U.S. citizens, calling such information "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats." Read...
[T]he extent of the NSA?s surveillance shows that it has focused specifically on Americans, to the degree that its data collection has in at least one major spying incident explicitlyexcluded those outside the United States. Read...
A senior Obama administration official [...] stressed that the information acquired by the purported order "does not include the content of any communications or the name of any subscriber. It relates exclusively to metadata, such as a telephone number or the length of a call." Read...
Data from all incoming and outgoing calls is provided to the NSA under the top secret order, which the Washington Post describes as a "routine renewal of a similar order first issued in 2006." The White House did not specifically address the Verizon order this morning, but referred to at least one telecommunications company.
Past revelations of major U.S. telecommunications companies spying on Americans suspected of no crimes has shown that the other carriers have consistently opened their lines and data banks to America's spy agencies since 2001.
[Photos by the Associated Press and Getty Images. Illustrations by Front]
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