Obama taps finance director as envoy to Denmark

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Handing plum European posts to key campaign boosters, President Barack Obama on Friday nominated his former finance director to be U.S. ambassador to Denmark and tapped two major fundraisers for postings in Spain and Germany.

Fundraising guru Rufus Gifford, who raised upward of $700 million as the head of Obama's 2012 finance operation and held a similar job previously at the Democratic National Committee, is Obama's pick for Denmark, the White House said. Obama selected James Costos, a vice president of HBO, as his envoy to Spain.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gifford and Costos would bolster the limited ranks of ambassadors in U.S. history who have been openly gay. When Obama took office in 2009, only two previous ambassadors had been openly gay. Friday's nominations mark the fifth and sixth, gay rights groups said.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which works to elect openly gay candidates, hailed the nominations and said they would clear the way for more gay Americans to achieve prominent positions in public service.

Obama also said he had selected John Emerson, an investment manager and former White House official, as his envoy to Germany. Both Costos and Emerson were listed in public disclosures as bundlers, meaning they raised more than $500,000 from others to benefit Obama's campaign. Federal Election Commission records show Costos donated more than $67,000 to efforts to re-elect Obama in 2012.

Ken Hackett, who stepped down last year as the president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, is Obama's pick to be the U.S. emissary to the Vatican. Hackett worked extensively in Africa coordinating Catholic charitable programs on the continent.

Patricia Marie Haslach, a veteran diplomat who has worked in Iraq, Pakistan and Laos, is Obama's pick to be ambassador to Ethiopia. He nominated Liliana Ayalde, another State Department official with experience throughout Latin and Central America, for the top post in Brazil. Both Haslach and Ayalde have held the rank of ambassador before.

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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-taps-finance-director-envoy-denmark-205518401.html

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Medieval leprosy skeletons sequenced

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Medieval leprosy skeletons sequenced
The genetic code of leprosy-causing bacteria from 1,000-year-old skeletons has been laid bare, showing the bug has hardly changed over the past millennium.

Source: BBC News
Posted on: Friday, Jun 14, 2013, 9:25am
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128643/Medieval_leprosy_skeletons_sequenced

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3Qs: Supreme Court rules human genes can't be patented | news ...

For researchers, it?s reasonable to imagine that we?ll see more effort in biotechnology and genomics labs to find genetic information related to any number of maladies that grow out of genetic mutations. There?s a fair amount of work being done already, but this ruling removes a serious barrier to its growth.

Patients?especially those wanting to reap the benefits of diagnostic exams like those based on Myriad?s patents?should expect to see more providers offering similar, and maybe more effective, diagnostic services enter the marketplace. If market theory holds, we should also see the costs of these exams come down. And from a legal perspective, we?ll certainly be updating our intellectual property and patent law syllabi. We?ve been talking about ?purifications? of naturally created products as patentable subject matter, but in the wake of this ruling that line of cases is probably on shaky ground.

Source: http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2013/06/3qs-human-genes-patents/

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Al-Qaida's Iraq head refuses to scrap Syria merger

BAGHDAD (AP) ? The leader of al-Qaida's Iraq arm defiantly rejected an order from the terror network's global command to scrap a merger with the organization's Syria affiliate, according to a message purporting to be from him that was posted online Saturday.

The latest statement by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who heads the Islamic State of Iraq, reveals a growing rift within the terror network and highlights the Iraqi wing's determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Syrian regime.

In an audio message posted online, a speaker identified as al-Baghdadi insists that a merger he announced in April with Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra rebel group to create a cross-border movement known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant will continue.

"The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant will continue as long as we live. We will not give up and we will not compromise over this," he said.

Al-Nusra is Syria's most powerful rebel extremist group, and its head has rejected the takeover attempt.

The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV reported late Sunday that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had issued a letter trying to end the squabbling and ordering the two groups to stay separate.

Al-Baghdadi is now defying that command.

In his statement, he referred to "the letter attributed to Sheik al-Zawahiri," suggesting he was calling into question the authenticity of the letter.

"I chose the command of God over the command that runs against it in the letter," al-Baghdadi said.

He urged his followers to rise up against Shiites, Alawites, and the "Party of Satan" ? a reference to the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which has been sending fighters to Syria to fight alongside of President Bashar Assad's regime. Assad comes from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

It was not possible to independently confirm whether the speaker was al-Baghdadi, but the man's voice was similar to that in an earlier recording announcing the merger.

Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq in recent months, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Al-Qaida in Iraq is thought responsible for many of the car bombings and other violent attacks targeting the country's majority Shiites and symbols of the Shiite-led government's authority.

Iraq risks getting more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war raging across its western border.

Iraqi border posts along the Syrian frontier have come under attack by rebels, and Syrian truck drivers and soldiers have been killed inside Iraq. Iraqi fighters are moving across the border, with Sunni extremists cooperating with the rebels and Shiite militants fighting alongside government forces.

Also on Saturday, an Iranian exile group living in a camp near Baghdad airport, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, said it came under attack from rockets that caused casualties among its members, according to camp spokesman Shahriar Kia.

Camp resident Kolthom Serahati was reported killed and others were wounded, according to the group.

Iraq's government wants the MEK out of the country, and the United Nations is working to relocate residents abroad.

The group is the militant wing of a Paris-based Iranian opposition group that opposes Iran's clerical regime and has carried out assassinations and bombings in Iran. It fought alongside Saddam Hussein's forces in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and several thousand of its members were given sanctuary in Iraq. It renounced violence in 2001.

Iraqi police officials reported that explosions ? which they said were caused by mortar shells ? struck near the airport, but there was no immediate word on casualties. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed reporting.

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Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaidas-iraq-head-refuses-scrap-syria-merger-111419218.html

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Internet Television Update & Supreme Court Says Human Genes ...

Internet Television Update: I?ve seen numerous articles in the last week that discuss the changing landscape of television ? and by that I mean the fact that movie and TV fans are increasingly watching television shows and movies on their computers, smartphones and tablets whenever and wherever they want to through online sources like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and YouTube. And in response to this trend the major cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast are dragging their feet as far as embracing this new way consumers increasing want to watch videos. The traditional cable companies would much prefer to hang on to their traditional status quote that demands their subscribers pay a monthly fee for many channels when those same consumers would really rather only pay for the channels and/or programs they want to watch and of course they?d like to watch the content they pay for whenever they want to on whichever internet connecting device they have on hand.

The tech company Intel is trying to change the cable company status quote by introduction a high speed internet connecting media streaming box that would allow consumers to accesses online video content quickly and easily ? and would take its place alongside the Roku, Apple TV and Google TV media streaming players. We?ll have to wait and see how successful Intel is but for my two cents worth for whatever it is worth ? probably about two cents! I think the traditional cable companies need to jump on board the internet TV bandwagon or eventually they will get left behind. I think those companies can delay the explosion of Internet accessed television for a while but eventually consumer demand will shift the money flow and more and more people will pay for internet accessed television shows, movies and subscription internet services like Netflix that they can then use to access the video content they want to watch when they want and where they want and on whichever internet connecting device they want to whether that device is a smartphone, laptop, tablet or the large HDTV in their living rooms.

Here?s a link to a Bloomberg Business Week article on the subject titled ?How Big Cable Companies Keep Internet TV At Bay:?

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-13/how-big-cable-keeps-internet-tv-at-bay

A second link to a New York Times opinion piece on the same subject titled ?The Television Will Be Revolutionized? which has tech writer Tristan Louis offering his five cents worth on the subject (I gave him three cents more since he?s a professional tech write and I?m a librarian!):

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/06/12/televisions-next-frontier/the-television-will-be-revolutionized

And a link to a New York Times opinion section on internet video aka streaming video titled ?Streaming for the Small Screen: An Introduction:?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/06/12/televisions-next-frontier

Supreme Court Says Human Genes Cannot Be Patented: The Supreme Court ruled today that human isolated human genes cannot be patented. The case was brought before the court by the Utah Company Myriad Genetics a company that does testing that shows a relationship between certain genes and a hereditary risk of getting cancer. The patents that Myriad was trying to protect had been challenged by a number of scientists and doctors because the costs of the tests ? due to the patents ? was around $3,000 which was making the genetic tests cost-prohibited for many people. So the cost of the genetic test should now come down. And interestingly the Court actually offered a split decision ruling that ?isolated? genes couldn?t receive a patent but that genetically engineered genes can.

I think the entire subject is fascinating because it illustrates, among other things that we are on the cusp of revolutionary advances in medicine that may indeed one day soon lead to a cure for cancer and the common cold among other maladies.

Here?s a link a Washington Post article on the Supreme Court ruling titled ?Supreme Court rules human genes may not be patented:?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-rules-human-genes-may-not-be-patented/2013/06/13/9e5c55d2-d43d-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html

And a second link to an article on the same subject from the New York Times titled ?Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patented:?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/us/supreme-court-rules-human-genes-may-not-be-patented.html

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Bachman, Justin. (2013, June 13). How Big Cable Keeps internet TV at Bay. Bloomberg Businessweek. Online. Accessed June 13, 2013.

Barnes, Robert. & Brady, Dennis. (2013, June 13). Supreme Court rules human genes may not be patented. The Washington Post. Online. Accessed June 13, 2013.

Louis, Tristan. (2013, June 13). The Television Will Be Revolutionized. New York Times. Online. Accessed June 13, 2013.

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Source: http://sscltech.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/internet-television-update-supreme-court-says-human-genes-cannot-be-patented/

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SmackDown Results: Bryan, Orton & Kane made The Shield tap out for the first time ever!

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2013-06-14/results

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Hands-on with Asphalt 8: Airborne

During E3, Gameloft announced the latest iteration of their long-standing racing series, Asphalt 8: Airborne. Asphalt 8 introduces a new aerial element where you're launching your car off ramps to do freakin' sweet spins and flips. It's basically mixing in Tony Hawk with your classic racing game.

There are also massive improvements in graphics, with a ton of new particle and lighting effects that will definitely raise the bar for iOS racing games. Expect the usual stuff from the Asphalt series here, including customizable cars and multiplayer options.

Ridiculous and unrealistic as it may be, it's tons of fun. I've always been a big fan of Asphalt for its arcade feel and wanton disregard for real-world physics. Asphalt 8 promises to be a fast-paced, challenging joyride when it launches later this summer for $0.99.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/AOz3vM3CiV0/story01.htm

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