Sports, art and drama... this week has it all. In fact the only thing it's lacking is a bit of romance. Unless Jamie's love of a student lifestyle counts? Honestly, when you find out what that involves, you'll realize it really doesn't.
Hosts: Dan Cooper, Jamie Rigg, Steve Dent
Producer: James Trew
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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/fFNa667NPQo/
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By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is "responding positively" to treatment for a recurring lung infection after being admitted to hospital overnight, the government said on Thursday.
"He remains under treatment and observation in hospital," it added in a statement, without giving further details about the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader.
Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, has been mostly absent from the political scene for the past decade, but remains an enduring and beloved symbol of the struggle against racism.
He is renowned at home and abroad for spending 27 years in prison fighting the last bastion of white rule in Africa and then promoting the cause of racial reconciliation.
"Black Americans look up to him because he fought oppression and his bravery is something that doesn't happen often," said Yau Williams, an American tourist, as he walked through Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton.
Mandela has been frail and in poor health for several years.
"He will come out fine, let's just have faith in God," said Samson Ndlovu, speaking in Zulu as he walked out of a Johannesburg taxi rank.
Mandela was in hospital briefly earlier this month for a check-up, and spent nearly three weeks in hospital in December with a lung infection and after surgery to remove gallstones.
That was his longest stay in hospital since his release from prison in 1990 after serving almost three decades for conspiring to overthrow the white-minority apartheid government.
Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.
As he has receded from public life, critics say his ruling African National Congress (ANC) has lost the moral compass he bequeathed it when he stepped down as president in 1999.
Under such leaders as Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo, the ANC gained wide international respect as it battled white rule. Once the yoke of apartheid was thrown off, it began ruling South Africa in a blaze of goodwill from world leaders who viewed it as a beacon for a troubled continent and world.
Almost two decades later, this image has dimmed as ANC leaders have been accused of indulging in the spoils of office, squandering mineral resources and engaging in power struggles.
Mandela spent much of last year in Qunu, his ancestral village in the poor Eastern Cape province. But since his release from hospital in December he has been at his home in an affluent Johannesburg suburb, closer to sophisticated medical facilities.
(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley, Zandi Shabalala and Benon Oluka; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africas-mandela-back-hospital-070717156.html
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Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell.
By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY
Actress Kristen Bell and actor Dax Shepard are the parents of a new baby girl, the "Parenthood" star announced on Twitter Thursday.
"Lincoln Bell Shepard is here. She has mom's beauty and dad's obsession with breasts. Hooray!!!" Shepard tweeted.
This is the first child for the couple who co-starred in 2010's "When in Rome." The couple got engaged?in 2009 and had said they were waiting until gay marriage was legal in California before they would marry. But Shepard, 38, did refer to Bell, 32, as his wife in a blog post about his dying father that went viral last week.
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A judge recently sentenced two activists to a decade in prison and ordered their civil rights organization, which lobbied against government corruption, to be shut down.
Mohammad al-Qahtani is one of the Saudi Arabia's most outspoken human rights activists. While many activists appear undeterred, the sentencing of Qahtani, together with that of Abdullah al-Hamid, cofounders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), represents a significant step backward in reform efforts.
Christa Case Bryant/The Christian Science Monitor
EnlargeSaudi Arabia?s decision this weekend to sentence two of the country?s most prominent human rights activists to 10 and 11 years in prison, respectively, has sparked a surge of discontent among the kingdom's reformers. In just one indication, an economist-blogger?s poll on Twitter drew 10,000 responses, 85 percent of them opposed to the decision.?
Skip to next paragraph Christa Case BryantJerusalem bureau chief
Christa Case Bryant is The Christian Science Monitor's Jerusalem bureau chief, providing coverage on Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as regional issues.
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While many activists appear undeterred, the sentencing of Mohammad al-Qahtani, together with that of Abdullah al-Hamid, cofounders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), represents a significant step backward in reform efforts.
The small opening for reform created by King Abdullah when he took over in 2005 has been gradually closing since the Arab Spring, says Prof. Gregory Gause, a scholar of Saudi Arabia at the University of Vermont.
"The last two years have seen a closing of what had been a very small opening of what had been acceptable discourse in Saudi Arabia," says Professor Gause, who chairs UVM's political science department. "I do think it?s a signal ? it?s part of the post-Arab Spring Saudi crackdown."
On March 9, a judge sentenced Mr. Hamid to 11 years in prison and Mr. Qahtani to 10 years, and also ordered ACPRA to be shut down immediately and its property confiscated. Qahtani, one of 11 activists who established the organization in 2009, had served as head of the organization since 2011 and was recently ranked 47th ?on?Foreign Policy?s 100 Top Global Thinkers list.?
ACPRA lobbied hard against the moral and financial corruption of the government and particularly its?treatment of political prisoners, whose numbers have been estimated by some to be as high as 30,000. Qahtani was particularly bold in questioning the legitimacy of the government, and even called for the Interior Minister, the crown prince, to be dismissed from his job.
He and Hamid were charged with ?breaking allegiance to the ruler and his successor? and ?trying to impede the country?s developments.? They have 30 days to launch an appeal.
Qahtani knew he was walking on thin ice, but when this reporter interviewed him in May 2012, he insisted the imperative for reform outweighed the threat of prison.?
"I take it as a moral responsibility," said Qahtani at the time. "It's a very difficult time?. But believe me, we can weather it.
"Maybe in 10, 20 years we can look in the eyes of our kids and say, look, we tried," he added.
Hamid has also remained determined, even optimistic.
?To my brothers who are pessimist and pitiful about the ACPRA trial: If we get imprisoned, it?s a huge victory for the project and from prisons candles are lit,? tweeted Hamid the night before he was sentenced.
While Qahtani is well-known internationally, Hamid, who has been jailed previously, is perhaps better known in Saudi. But neither of them have the same level of influence as some Islamists in Saudi, and thus they don't pose a major threat to the government, says Gause.
"In both these cases, it?s interesting that the regime has chosen to make a symbol of these guys because they aren?t a big threat, they don?t have a huge following," he says. "The blowback is more international."
But some influential Islamists appear to be siding with the two sentenced dissidents. Salman al-Oudah, a salafi sheikh with more than 1 million followers on Twitter who has spent some time in jail himself, responded to the sentencing by tweeting that ?imprisonments and sacrifices only ingrain ideas, draw people together,? according to a translation by prominent Saudi blogger Eman Al Nafjan (@Saudiwoman).
According to Global Voices, which has been running an in-depth report on the trial of Qahtani and Hamid, the judge said Saturday that Al Qaeda and ACPRA are ?two sides of the same coin.? The report?quoted a tweet from Mohammad al-Abdualkreem that gets to the ideological tension behind the case: ?The judge concluded that the social contract theory is invalid and contradicts with the Muslim faith, and that coercive ruling, hereditary monarchy and appointment are fundamental to Islamic practice.?
But that view is increasingly being challenged. Sheikh al-Oudah, for example, has firmly stated that Islam and democracy are indeed compatible.
?To debate and consult the citizen in decisions and policies ... [and] elections, I think Islam gave us that sort of democracy ? all caliphs were elected by their people,? he told a small group of journalists ? including this reporter ? with the International Reporting Project during an interview at his Jeddah home last year.
While loath to allow someone like Qahtani to continue his criticism unchecked, Saudi appears at least somewhat responsive to the changes afoot. For example, Qahtani and Hamid?s trials were supposed to be held in secret, but their lobbying resulted in a public trial. On Saturday, more than 130 supporters were in attendance, as well as major news outlets such as Al Jazeera, according to the Global Voices report.
To be sure though, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world's wealthiest and and most powerful monarchies ? and it is still strongly backed by the United States, despite its poor human rights record. It is highly unlikely that it will come tumbling down as a result of this case or anything else in the next week, month, or even year.
"To me the big issue here is ? can you get an issue where you get these more 'liberal' technocratic types and long-bearded people and Shia all together on something in Saudi area," says Gause. "The thing that brought down regimes in Tunisia and Egypt is that islamists, secularists, liberalists, and leftists could all get behind, 'We want this regime to fall,' and I don?t see that in Saudi."
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Published on March 12th, 2013 | by Dan
Payday: The Heist is definitely a KBMOD favorite. I did a whole series with Alex and Nick on my YouTube channel last year. The game combines Left4Dead style game play with crazy Hollywood movie style heists. What?s not to love? There is even an extensive leveling system and some extreme difficulty too. ?The game really doesn?t have many faults, but Overkill Studios is going to try to top it.
Payday 2 was announced last year but now we have some details on what improvements and changes are coming to the game. PCGamer got a good amount of time with the game and has revealed some juicy details. Overkill has upped the stakes of the leveling system from more than just Call of Duty style perks to actual diverse talent paths. There are four ways to build your character and each one fulfills some individual roles in the heists. ?The classes include an Enforcer who does the damage for your crew, the Ghost, who can more easily remove cameras and destroy alarms, Technicians can crack safes, use gadgets and repair equipment faster and Masterminds can turn cops to your side and negotiate with ease. This will allow you to better plan heists and not rely on just piling up bodies, which is what the first game devolved into most of the time.
There will also be more dynamic missions with evolving mid-mission choice. You may have a branching side story to follow if you choose. You can even purchase maps or safe codes before the mission with previous stash money that will help with the current heist. There is even talk of being able to case the joint before the heist. Definitely check out the full list of changes in the PCGamer article linked above.
Overall, this all sounds like the right way to do the sequel to a first great effort. They didn?t make an radical changes and if anything have refined the formula of Payday: The Heist. This game is a definite purchase for me and if the first game was any indication, it should be a $20-$30 title so it won?t strain your wallet either. No release date pinpointed, but it will come out this year so keep your eyes on this one.
?
image courtesy Starbreeze Studios
Dan I put the OO in Swagoo. One of the founders of KBMOD. I stream 3 times a week on the Twitch channel and try to write many articles here on the site. I enjoy long walks on the beach and games about children being chased through their basement by their homocidal mother.
Source: http://www.kbmod.com/2013/03/12/payday-2-looks-to-improve-on-an-already-great-formula/
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BlackBerry CEO Thorsten HeinsBlackBerry (BBRY) executives have a history of making condescending comments to analysts, but this time, Thorsten Heins has really broke new ground in haughtiness. At an Ontario conference, Mr. Heins was asked about the low-end smartphone market and he firmly stated that his company is ?not going to get into $50-60 segment,? Bloomberg reported. This, of course, is pure straw man construction. Nobody thinks BlackBerry should or can get into the $50-60 price segment. Mostly because that price segment does not exist. There are no $50 smartphones.
[More from BGR: Leaked photos may finally reveal Samsung?s Galaxy S IV]
No one believes that BlackBerry should get into the $100-120 price segment, either. The thing everyone wants to know is when BlackBerry intends to enter the $200-250 price segment. This is a real smartphone price segment that exists in the real world. This is the price segment where models such as the?Micromax Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium are making huge market share gains in regions like Asia. This is the price segment where Windows Phones like Nokia?s (NOK) Lumia 520 are entering right now. This is the price segment where Samsung (005930) and HTC (2498) are triumphing from Brazil to Malaysia.
[More from BGR: Google ?X Phone? specs reportedly revealed: Quad-core CPU, 4.7-inch HD display, 16MP camera]
You see, the biggest problem BlackBerry is now facing is the global subscriber base erosion that started in the November quarter. BlackBerry?s subscriber base shrank for the first time in the company?s history, by a relatively sharp 2 million subscribers. This happened because subscriber growth in markets like Nigeria, South Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia is no longer strong enough to offset the weakness in markets like North America and Europe. That BlackBerry sub growth slowdown in Africa and Asia is directly linked to the loss of competitiveness of its cheap Curve product range against Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, Spice and Micromax? in the sub-$250 price category.
The question of when a competitive, cheap Curve model debuts in emerging markets is thus extremely important. BlackBerry?s future may hinge on when it can get a solid, sub-$250 smartphone out in Africa and Asia. So the decision of BlackBerry?s CEO to brush off this question by a snide comment about ?not entering $50-$60 segment? is not only completely inane, it is insulting for the company shareholders.
Nobody is expecting BlackBerry to produce a smartphone that is cheaper than any other smartphone in the world. People simply want to know when BlackBerry intends to enter the price segment where smartphone volume growth is now exploding. Mr. Heins?s?defensiveness and shiftiness?on this topic is not encouraging.
This article was originally published on BGR.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-blackberry-ceo-being-weird-low-end-market-162045552.html
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Zombies seem to be everywhere these days.
In the popular TV series "The Walking Dead," humans struggle to escape from a pack of zombies hungry for flesh. Prank alerts have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states. And across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead.
Are these just unhealthy obsessions with death and decay? To Clemson University professor Sarah Lauro, the phenomenon isn't harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval.
Lauro, who teaches English at Clemson, studied zombies while working on her doctoral degree at the University of California at Davis. Lauro said she keeps track of zombie movies, TV shows and video games, but her research focuses primarily on the concept of the "zombie walk," a mass gathering of people who, dressed in the clothes and makeup of the undead, stagger about and dance.
It's a fascination that, for Lauro, a self-described "chicken," seems unnatural. Disinterested in violent movies or games, Lauro said she finds herself now taking part in both in an attempt to further understand what makes zombie-lovers tick.
"I hate violence," she said. "I can't stand gore. So it's a labor, but I do it."
The zombie mob originated in 2003 in Toronto, Lauro said, and popularity escalated dramatically in the United States in 2005, alongside a rise in dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq.
"It was a way that the population was getting to exercise the fact that they felt like they hadn't been listened to by the Bush administration," Lauro said. "Nobody really wanted that war, and yet we were going to war anyway."
The mid- to late 2000s also saw an uptick in overall zombie popularity, perhaps prompted in part by the release of post-apocalyptic movies including "Dawn of the Dead" and "28 Days Later."
As of last year, Lauro said, zombie walks had been documented in 20 countries. The largest gathering drew more than 4,000 participants at the New Jersey Zombie Walk in Asbury Park, N.J., in October 2010, according to the Guinness World Records.
"We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered," Lauro said. "And the facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered. ... Either playing dead themselves ... or watching a show like 'Walking Dead' provides a great variety of outlets for people."
But, Lauro pointed out, the display of dissatisfaction isn't always a conscious expression of that feeling of frustration.
"If you were to ask the participants, I don't think that all of them are very cognizant of what they're saying when they put on the zombie makeup and participate," she said. "To me, it's such an obvious allegory. We feel like, in one way, we're dead."
___
Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP .
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/researcher-zombie-fads-peak-society-unhappy-092912860.html
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Former Atlanta Brave baseball player Chipper Jones, right, reacts as he stands next to his girlfriend Taylor Higgins where he was honored in the House Chambers at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Atlanta. The retired third baseman came to the Capitol Tuesday to collect resolutions and accolades from legislators and others. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jason Getz) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT
Former Atlanta Brave baseball player Chipper Jones, right, reacts as he stands next to his girlfriend Taylor Higgins where he was honored in the House Chambers at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 5, 2013, in Atlanta. The retired third baseman came to the Capitol Tuesday to collect resolutions and accolades from legislators and others. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jason Getz) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT
VIERA, Fla. (AP) ? Chipper Jones putting on pinstripes?
The banged-up New York Yankees would love to have him. General manager Brian Cashman even said so Monday, expressing interest in the retired Atlanta Braves star.
"He'd be perfect," Cashman said at Yankees' camp in Tampa. "I'd take Larry in a heartbeat. I think everybody would."
The eight-time All-Star third baseman ? better known by his nickname than actual first name ? quickly ended such talk.
"Enough with the rumors!" Jones tweeted. "While I am flattered about the speculation of being enticed out of retirement, I'm happy with life as a bad golfer!"
Pretty much what everyone figured.
"I can imagine a lot of things in baseball," Braves coach and former third baseman Terry Pendleton said, "but Chipper playing for the Yankees isn't one of them."
"I think you'd have a lot of people in Atlanta pretty mad if that happened. He's a man of his word and he says he's done," he said. "But it might help the Yankees with their attendance. I think a lot of Mets fans would come over to Yankee Stadium to boo him."
Still, it was a fun thought ? Jones and Derek Jeter together on the left side of the infield. At least for a minute.
"He has the utmost respect for the Yankees' organization, but his legacy is and will always be with the Braves," Jones' agent, B.B. Abbott, told The Associated Press in a text message.
Jones bowed out last fall after playing all 19 seasons in Atlanta, hitting .303 with 468 home runs. A month shy of turning 41, Jones recently spent a few days at spring training with his old team.
In a jam because of injuries, Cashman just came up with the idea.
"I already know the answer, but might as well throw it out there anyway," he said.
The Yankees are on the prowl, however. They are missing third baseman Alex Rodriguez, sidelined until July or longer after hip surgery, and first baseman Mark Teixeira, out until May because of a strained tendon in his right wrist.
Newcomer Kevin Youkilis can play either corner infield spot, but not at the same time. He made his first spring training start at first base on Monday against St. Louis.
A more realistic option is 37-year-old Derrek Lee, who hasn't played since 2011, when he hit .267 with 19 homers and 59 RBIs for Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Cashman talked to Lee and the first baseman appeared to be intrigued.
"It's an out-of-the-box thought," Cashman said. "I just know that he was a Yankee-type of player. If he was game, I bet he still has game."
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Cashman said.
Exactly, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
"Never any harm in asking Chipper," he said before Atlanta played Washington. "But, uh, no."
___
AP freelance writer Mark Didtler in Tampa contributed to this report.
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