A man walks past a placard left in support of former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria. Mandela's clan name is Madiba



 

 



ESO - eso1328 - Three Planets in Habitable Zone of Nearby Star

>> ESO - eso1328 - Three Planets in Habitable Zone of Nearby Star

Det solidariska Sverige bakom kulissen

Skolinspektionen riktar kritik mot
Varbergs kommun för att inte ha vid-
tagit tillräckliga åtgärder när en
fjärdeklassare med funktionsned-
sättning kränkts upprepade gånger.

Vid ett tillfälle misshandlades pojken
på skolbussen och busschauffören het-
sade på: -Slå han så kör vi, sade han
till de övriga barnen. Det hela filma-
des och lades ut på Facebook.

Pojkens föräldrar har anmält en rad
kränkningar. T.ex har han tvingats dra
ned byxorna och lägga sig som fotpall
åt de andra barnen. Det rapporterar
nyhetsbyrån Siren.   

Min kommenar: Mitt straff för de som ertappas (oavsett ålder), inkl chauffören med att ha kränkt fjärdeklassaren med funktionsnedsättning vill jag skall bli ungdomsfängelse i minst ett par år med endast hårtbröd och vatten som kost.  Föräldrarna till odjuren skulle också beläggas med dryga skadestånd till den drabbade.          

VM U20

Dagens matcher

Chile-England
Irak-Egypten
Nya Zealand-Uruguay
Kroatien-Uzbekistan

Mannen med mest energi - Affärsvärlden

>>  Mannen med mest energi - Affärsvärlden

Ofog

>> http://ofog.org/

Allt fler tveksamma till forskning

>> Allt fler tveksamma till forskning

Aja baja

Karbidfabriken i Stockvik i Sundsvall släppte förra året ut 1000 gånger mer partiklar i luften än vad E4 i Sundsvall tillåts göra. De ligger på plats tio på listan av vilka industrier i landet som släpper ut mest av PM10-partiklar.

Big Brother Is Watching

U.S. surveillance program causes embarrassment and worldwide debate

 

SUPPORTING SNOWDEN: People march in a demonstration supporting U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong on June 15 (CFP)

By Yu Lintao

"Big brother is watching you"—the phrase made famous in British author George Orwell's political satire Nineteen Eighty-Four—has suddenly taken on fresh relevance following revelations of a massive surveillance network stemming from the world's biggest superpower.

It would have seemed unbelievable if it were not for the former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden, who revealed to the press the highly classified program of U.S. intelligence agencies, codenamed PRISM. Under the program, the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been secretly tapping directly into the central servers of nine U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs that enable analysts to track a person's movements and contacts over time.

Observers claim that the program, due to its scope, capabilities and implications, marks the bleakest moment yet in the history of the Internet. It makes not only U.S. citizens but almost all worldwide users of these Internet services potential targets of NSA surveillance. According to the young former NSA agent, there had been more than 61,000 NSA hacking operations globally, with hundreds of targets in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland covering public officials, businesses and universities.

Coincidentally, an article on the website of the U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine disclosed that a number of confidential sources have indicated that a highly secretive unit of the NSA, called the Office of Tailored Access Operations, has been successfully penetrating Chinese computer and telecommunications systems for almost 15 years, generating some of the best and most reliable intelligence information about China.

The matrix

The U.S. Government is now in an awkward position. General Keith Alexander, chief of the NSA, previously denied any surveillance of the U.S. public in a congressional hearing. During his first visit to China in 2009, President Barack Obama spoke eloquently in his speech about Internet freedom at a meeting with students of the Fudan University in Shanghai. Moreover, in a statement following Google's dramatic withdrawal from China, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged U.S. media companies to play a proactive role in challenging foreign governments' demands for censorship and surveillance. Now, with the extent of this secret program laid bare, their past words appear feeble and false.

Xu Peixi, an associate professor with the Communication University of China, remarked that when American politicians and businessmen make accusatory remarks, their eyes are firmly fixed on foreign countries as they turn a blind eye to their own misdeeds.

Google officials attributed the American Internet giant's withdrawal from China to state "surveillance" by the Chinese Government. By the same logic, one would expect the company to take responsibility for leaking data and information to the NSA and withdraw from the U.S. market, said Xu.

In the past several months, Washington has incessantly accused Beijing of cyber attacks targeting the United States. Some U.S. politicians even claimed the cyber security issue is at the center of the Sino-U.S. relationship and appealed to Obama to press China to halt so-called "cyber theft" during the latest bilateral summit in early June.

Facts prove that the United States itself is a major perpetrator of cyber attacks, said Teng Jianqun, Director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies. "For a long time, the United States has used the issue of cyber security to launch a campaign of anti-China propaganda. Washington owes Beijing an explanation for its own hacking activities," Teng said.

According to Teng, the NSA takes orders directly from the U.S. president. With at least 160,000 agents, the annual funding for the NSA tops $15 billion. It is reported that 90 percent of U.S. intelligence is gathered by the NSA.

"The leaks from Snowden show the NSA is the largest matrix for intelligence gathering of the United States, and even the largest worldwide," said Teng.

Snowden's revelations have touched off a backlash in the United States. Though some tolerate such surveillance for national security reasons, most people have expressed outrage. Some U.S. politicians have tried to douse the flames. Obama argued that one cannot have both 100 percent security and 100 percent personal privacy, saying that the two must be balanced.

However, the question is where to find that balance between security and privacy. And while the U.S. public may agree to such surveillance to protect national security, what about the privacy of foreigners?

Teng noted that it is the general practice of the United States to overemphasize its own security and rights while disregarding or criticizing other countries.

Li Yuxiao, a professor with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and an expert on social networking studies, said the United States claims to protect the free flow of information in its international cyber space strategy. Its long-term goal, however, is to serve the interests of the United States in controlling the cyber world.

In Li's opinion, the free flow of information must be based on the protection of the legal rights and privacy of individual Internet users.

Scapegoating China

In a TV news program on June 16, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney denounced Snowden as a traitor, and said China would "probably be willing to provide immunity for [Snowden] or sanctuary for him in exchange for what he presumably knows or doesn't know," hinting that Snowden is a Chinese spy.

Teng said the PRISM program is a big scandal for the U.S. Government because privacy is a sensitive issue in the West. Cheney is no doubt trying to shift the focus, while warning China not to contact Snowden for intelligence, he added.

China's Foreign Ministry rejected spy claims against Snowden. The latter also denied that he has any links with China. In a live Q&A with Guardian readers from a secret location in Hong Kong, Snowden said the accusations from American politicians are a "predictable smear" designed to "distract from the issue of U.S. Government misconduct."

"If I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into Beijing?" said the whistleblower.

Snowden said it is the highest honor as an American to be called a traitor by Cheney, who he said helped engineer the warrantless wiretapping program during the run-up to the Iraq War, which has killed over 4,400 Americans as well as more than 100,000 Iraqis. Snowden added that he fled the country because he doubts that he will be given a fair trial at home.

From what Snowden has revealed, the United States holds an absolute advantage in "cyber warfare" and can launch cyber attacks worldwide at any time. Meanwhile, it poses as a victim of cyber attacks and accuses other countries, including China, of the same misdeeds it has been shown to inflict upon its own citizens.

Observers believe that by pressing Beijing, Washington is trying to set rules for other countries in the cyber security domain that would guarantee the dominance of the United States in cyber space.

"The development of the Internet should be an issue concerning everyone. It is not reasonable for a country to set rules for the whole world for its own benefit, nor is it fair to engage in universal monitoring," Li said.

 

Spanska landslaget under träning

Det är Ramos som jonglerar

VM U20

Dagens matcher

Grupp C
Australien- El Salvador 1-2
Turkiet - Colombia 0-1
Colombia leder gruppen
Grupp D
Mexiko - Paraguay 0-1
Mali - Grekland 0-0 
Grekland leder gruppen

SAS köper plan

SAS har tecknat en avsiktsförklaring med Airbus om 12 nya långdistansflygplan för ett listordervärde på 3,3 miljarder dollar.
Det framgår av ett pressmeddelande.
Beställningen inkluderar åtta nya A350-900 XWB, fyra nya A330-300 Enhanced samt en genomgripande uppgradering av kabinerna på A330/340-flottan./DI

Frédéric Chopin

1810 Frédéric Chopin föddes i Zelazowa, Polen. Modern var polska, fadern Nicholas var ursprungligen fransman men lämnade Frankrike 1787 för att slippa värnplikten.
1811 Systern Isabelle föddes.
1813 Systern Emilia föddes.
1816 Frédéric började studera piano.
1818 Första offentliga framträdandet (Warszawa).
1822-1829 Elev vid Warszawakonservatoriet
1820 Tio år gammal skriver "March".
1826 Sexton år gammal komponerar Lá si darem.
1827 Systern Emilia avlider.
1828 Besöker Berlin.
1829 Besöker Wien och ger två konserter. Besöker också Prag, Teplitz  och  Dresden. Kärleksaffär med Constantia Gladkowska.

MARIA WODZINSKA,
(1819-1896),

George Sand,pseudonym för
Aurore Dudevant

1835 Förälskar sig i Marie Wodzinska.

1837 Träffar George Sand.


1838 På Mallorca med George Sand och hennes barn.

1839 Chopins hälsa som varit dålig, blir än sämre. Man återvänder till Frankrike.
1844 Chopins far avlider.
1847 Förbindelsen med George Sand bruten.
1848 Sista konserten i Paris. Reser till London. Träffar Jenny Lind. Reser till Skottland. Spelar i Manchester, Glasgow och Edinbury. Återvänder i mycket dåligt hälsotillstånd till London.
1949 Återvänder till Paris och avlider den 17 oktober i turberkulos.

Huvudsaklig källa: The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians

Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrids nye tränare blir Carlo Ancelotti (bilden) . Presenteras på onsdag.

Move over, Rio – Quito is South America's hottest must-see city

The centuries-old cobblestone streets of Quito are so steep that the city’s soundtrack is the metallic screech of worn brakes mingled with the blare of salsa and cumbia from the narrow doorways. One tiny fonda (shop) is crammed with canned goods and sweets. In another doorway, an ancient juicer rattles out fresh tropical drinks.

The streets are bursting with commerce. Elderly indigenous women wrapped in ponchos sit beside piles of fruit for sale, and on almost every corner someone hawks lottery tickets. A woman with an infant in one arm and a bag of avocados in the other scurries past a nun carrying a large black umbrella to shield herself from the sun. In this mix, a gaggle of Galapagos-bound, camera-laden tourists huff their way up the hills in this second highest capital in the world. This is Quito with all its Latin American urban randomness, turmoil, cacophony and its delicate balance on the edge of past and future. This is the only Quito most tourists see on their stopover to the Galapagos.

But this city, nearly 3,000 metres up in the thin air and surrounded by volcanoes, is on fire. The city’s restored historical centre has long been recognized by UNESCO and, more recently, National Geographic Traveller ranked Quito as one of its must-see cities in 2013. But attention-grabbing Quito is about more than its colonial backdrop. Awash in oil money, the government has upped it’s cool factor by spending more on the arts.
“We’ve never had more places to show our work. Art is exploding,” young photographer Diana Punina says. We’re standing in the midst of a wildly adoring crowd waving back to charismatic President Rafael Correa, who’s appeared on the balcony of his home. This scene, replete with a brass band, is a regular Monday event. For all the criticism this self-described socialist head of state gets, even his detractors concede his government is doing right by arts and culture.

Museums and theatres have had facelifts and their programs funded. A film board was launched, and the National Ministry of Culture has been fuelling artists of all kinds with big and small grants. From festivals and theatre to offbeat galleries and venues for experimental music, the energy of contemporary Quito is volcanic.
One of those galleries is the brand-new, pocket-sized No Lugar. No Lugar, the dream of three art-college students, shows emerging artists such as Martina Aviles, whose black-and-white series of new immigrants gets gallery-goers talking about social issues. “Las cosas se mueven y pasan,” or things are happening, things are moving, says gallery co-founder Pancho Suarez.

Another recent venue is Ecuador’s only contemporary-art musuem, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo. The stunning white, arched courtyard, slate floors and long, airy gallery space have risen from an old military hospital. CAC is as committed to showing contemporary Ecuadorean art as it is to welcoming its neighbours from the nearby barrio, or slum, to help shape the museum’s mission.

Quito

The current show highlights modern riffs on traditional tejido (woven) arts, and currently there is a retrospective of local artist Pablo Cardoso. But visitors are as likely to see a crew of scruffy teenagers using the museum’s computers or practising dance moves with a boom box in one of the gallery spaces. “This museum belongs to the neighbourhood,” Tomas Bucheli, one of the museum educators, tells me.
Outside of galleries and museums, many neighbourhoods are filled with art. All over the city, particularly in Floresta and Guapalo, graffiti artists create a lush backdrop in otherwise drab areas.

Quito’s music isn’t just dominated by Latin American classics such as salsa, cumbia and bachata, the scene here is as inventive as any in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Mile End, Montreal. In the nightlife hotspot of Mariscal, you’ll find venues for mainstream tropipop and reggaeton, but also indie clubs. Miguel Loor, who runs the city’s alternative station Radio COCOA, says “rare and cool” music is found at the new and very underground Catekil, under-the-radar El Aguijón and ultra-hip Naranjilla Mecanica. These edgy hotspots offer everything from electronic and metal to indigenous Andean hip hop.
But, as in the visual arts, Quito’s alternative music scene isn’t just about music. “We want our music to help create a more environmentalist and humanist society,” says a passionate Esteban Falconi, drummer for the band L.O.B.A. (La Orden del Baile Atrevido). Falconi, who is also an environmental lawyer working on indigenous issues, is the embodiment of an artistic renaissance that, like a traditional tapestry, weaves these experimental arts into the environmental politics of Ecuador. Quito is, after all the jumping-off point for the threatened Amazon.
There’s a boho-chic restaurant in Quito that serves up the Amazon’s eco-issues along with organic native meals. La Cuchara de San Marcos has become an ad hoc Amazon River warrior clubhouse that serves imaginatively prepared authentic Andean cuisine using produce sourced from nearby Kichwa gardeners and farmers. It’s owned by the local Amazon Watch co-ordinator and has become a frequent stop for environmental lawyers and volunteers heading into the jungle.

But even the environmentalists take Sundays off in Quito. Every plaza is filled with music, street theatre and informal and intergenerational dancing. Wander the streets carefree in the historic section of the city – it’s closed to traffic, as is the main drag Amazonas. Sunday is also a good day to stroll the Calle de La Ronda, a historic narrow cobblestone street.
Film aficionados can indulge in Quito’s film scene at art house Cine Ocho y Medio. The cinema industry has received a 300-per-cent boost from Ecuador’s recently implemented government program, similar to Canada’s National Film Board.
Quito has long been the stepsister of its more sophisticated South American siblings, Buenos Aires and Rio, but no longer, says University of Andina professor Michel Levi, a close observer of the arts scene. “The social class for this sort of thing used to go abroad to see all this. The landscape has finally changed.”





IF YOU GO
WHAT TO DO: Join the adoring crowds at 11 a.m. on Monday mornings at the Presidential Palace for the changing of the guard. It’s a chance to see El Presidente wave from his balcony. There are brass bands, high stepping horses and guards in 19th-century sartorial splendour. All just this side of a Sacha Baron Cohen send-up.
Straddle both hemispheres, but not at La Mitad del Mundo, the reputed middle of the world. That site is the fake equator, off by 240 metres. The real geographic equator latitude is a few minutes away up a dusty, unpaved road lined with cacti. There you’ll be met by some indigenous people who will do hokey but fun science experiments at the outdoor Intinan Museum. You’ll also find the hemisphere dividing line and a stone solar clock.

WHERE TO EAT: the new hip, nine-table La Cuchara de San Marcos features organic Andean cuisine, and you’ll likely run into young people from around the world working on protecting the Amazon. Wonderful food and inspirational conversation. Junín E3-121 y Manuel Jijón; lacucharadesanmarcos.blogspot.ca
At the elegant restaurant in the hotel Casa Gangotena, chef Andrés Dávila serves up regional variants of traditional dishes such as locro, a thick potato soup, and, of course, aji – a hot sauce made with tart tree tomatoes. Bolivar Oe6-41 y Cuenca; casagangotena.com

Enjoyment:


WHERE TO LISTEN: Decades ago when Quito was still a sleepy traditional town, painter/photographer Pepe Aviles did something unheard of. He opened a club for jazz and new music, El Pobre Diablo. This is still, says drummer Esteban Falconi, “a mandatory place for young musicians to play.” Isabel La Católica N24-274 Galavis esq. La Floresta; elpobrediablo.com
El Aguijón with its cool industrial vibe, is a multigenerational nightspot and one of the few alternative clubs in Mariscal. Aguijon showcases independent bands like Latin ska kings Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, has riotously amusing karaoke with live bands, and every tourista’s dream, salsa night on Wednesday. José Calama E-7-35 y Reina Victoria.
Brand new Catekil (a.k.a. Centro Cultural Catekil) is the darling of alternative Quito. The underground place is a welcoming venue for the work of young and disaffected artists and musicians. Foch OE 5 43 y Reina Victoria

WHERE TO DANCE: Grab a taxi to Mayo del 68 and your driver will be surprised that you, a tourist, have found the most local dance spot. Lizardo Garcia y Juan León Mera
If you aren’t quite ready to make a public appearance, sneak in a few dance lessons at Academia Salsa & Merengue Foch E4-256 y Amazonas

WHAT TO BUY: Chocolate and coffee are Ecuador staples, but your conscience will be clear when you shop for your take homes at the tiny Kallari Café. The organic chocolate from bean to bar is 100-per-cent owned by a Kichwa people’s co-operative high in the Andes. kallari.com
La Tienda de CAC, the museum shop at the Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, has art pieces from $4,000 (a woven and recycled fabric doll by one of Ecuador’s most well-known artists, Paula Barragán) to under $10 (a clever bit of handiwork turning tire treads into a pencil case. centrodeartecontemporaneo.gob.ec

WHERE TO STAY: The sweetest of hotels, Hotel Patio Andaluz, is in a genteelly restored colonial building. It’s atmospheric in an Old World Latin-American style, with kind and attentive staff. Rooms from $245 (U.S.). García Moreno N6-52 between Mejía and Olmedo
The little 10-room City Art Hotel Silberstein is right in the heart of the city and convenient to bars, restaurants and shops on every dutiful tourist’s list. The hotel is a kind of ongoing garage sale since you can buy any of the funky antiques you see in your room. Rooms from $122 (U.S.). Wilson E5-29 y Juan Leon Mera; galextur.com/city-art-hotel-silberstein
The writer travelled courtesy of Quito Visitor Bureau. The agency did not review or approve the story.

Jag har varit rätt mycket i Ecuador. men det var
länge sedan. Fotot (fotograf jag, plats Quito) visar min bästa bekant där.
Hon bodde i hamnstaden Guayaquil och blev faktiskt
utsedd till Miss Guayaquil under min tid där.
Hur det gick i rikstävlingen vet jag inte.
(Inte bara hennes yttre var attraktivt;
det fanns mycket inuti också).

 

FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending June 21, 2013

>> http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbis-top-ten-news-stories-for-the-week-ending-june-21-2013?utm_campaign=email-Weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=national-press-releases&utm_content=235522

The world’s largest solar-powered ship stopped in New York City on June 20, 2013.

http://nyti.ms/18bFOB4

VM U20

Igår

Frankrike-USA   1-1
Spanien-Ghana 1-0
Kuba-Nigeria     0-3
Portugal-Sydkorea 2-2

Jesé gör matchens enda mål

Dagens matcher

Australien-El Salvador
Turkiet-Colombia
Mexico-Paraguay
Mali-Grekland

Pepi

Så har då Pep Guardiola välkomnats som ny tränare för Bayern München.

CR9

 

En av världens bästa fotbollsspelare Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) har semester och "ertappas" på Times Square i New York tillsammans med sin väninna den ryska fotomodellen Irina Shayk.