Twitter ordered to ID anti-Semitic tweeters

14 hrs.

Brian Love , Reuters

PARIS ???A French court on Thursday ordered Twitter to help identify the authors of anti-Semitic posts or face fines of the?equivalent?of?$1,300?a?day, as the social network firm comes under renewed pressure to combat racist and extremist messages.?

The order, requested by a Jewish student union and rights groups, concerned anti-Semitic material but could open the floodgates to legal pursuit of Twitter users who post a wide range of messages deemed illegal or offensive.?

"This is an excellent decision, which we hope will bring an end to the feeling of impunity that fuels the worst excesses," said Stephane Lilti, lawyer for the groups who sought the ruling.?

The anti-Semitic messages started appearing last October, and have since been deleted.?

The Paris court gave privately?held Twitter, whose general policy is that it does not control content posted on its network, 15 days to hand over data identifying people who have published messages judged anti-Semitic.?

The court also ordered Twitter to set up a system in France that helps people draw attention to illegal content. Under French law, people found guilty of inciting racial hatred can be jailed for a year and fined.?

Twitter's lawyer in France, Alexandra Neri, declined to comment.?

Failure to comply would expose the firm, founded in 2006 and now boasting 140 million monthly active users worldwide, to daily fines of 1,000 euros if the groups who sought the order request it, which Lilti said they would not hesitate to do.?

A rights group involved in the case was quick to point out that the injunction, while limited to a case of anti-Semitic traffic, set a precedent that could also have a wider impact.?

"This marks a decisive step forward in the battle against racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic offences on the Internet," the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) said in a statement.?

"Nobody can ignore French law, not even the giants of the American digital economy."?

For a first time, Twitter deployed a new message-blocker in Germany last October to jam the posting of messages by a neo-Nazi group banned by police.?

A tool Twitter calls "country withheld content" allows it to censor tweets considered illegal in a given country.?

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/twitter-ordered-id-anti-semitic-tweeters-france-1C8103590

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NASA's Opportunity Rover Begins Year 10 on Mars

The older, smaller cousin of NASA's huge Mars rover Curiosity is quietly celebrating a big milestone today (Jan. 24) ? nine years on the surface of the Red Planet.

NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars the night of Jan. 24, 2004 PST (just after midnight EST on Jan. 25), three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. Spirit stopped operating in 2010, but Opportunity is still going strong, helping scientists better understand the Red Planet's wetter, warmer past.

"No one could've imagined how good the exploration and scientific discovery would be for this vehicle, looking from the perspective of nine years ago," said John Callas, Opportunity's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "It's been a phenomenal accomplishment."

The headline-stealing Curiosity rover, for its part, touched down on Aug. 5, 2012, marking the next step in Mars exploration. The car-size Curiosity weighs about 1 ton ? five times more than either Spirit or Opportunity.

Long-lived rovers

Spirit and Opportunity were originally supposed to spend three months searching for evidence of past water activity on the Red Planet. The golf-cart-size robots found plenty of such signs at their separate landing sites, showing that Mars was not always the cold and arid planet we know today. [Most Amazing Discoveries by Spirit and Opportunity]

For example, in 2007 Spirit uncovered an ancient hydrothermal system in Gusev Crater, suggesting that two key ingredients for life as we know it ? liquid water and an energy source ? were both present in some parts of Mars long ago.

And Opportunity is currently inspecting clay deposits along the rim of Mars' huge Endeavour Crater. Clays form in relatively neutral (as opposed to acidic or basic) water, so the area may once have been capable of supporting primitive microbial life, researchers say.

"This is our first glimpse ever at conditions on ancient Mars?that clearly show us a chemistry that would've been suitable for life at the Opportunity site," Opportunity principal investigator Steve Squyres, of Cornell University, said of the discovery at a conference last month.

The rovers rolled far beyond their 90-day warranties. Spirit finally stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, after getting mired in soft sand and failing to maneuver into a position that would allow it to slant its solar panels toward the sun over the 2009-2010 Martian winter. NASA declared the rover dead in 2011.

But Opportunity keeps chugging along. It has put 22.03 miles (35.46 kilometers) on its odometer since landing on Mars ? just 1 mile (1.6 km) off the all-time record for most ground covered on the surface of another world. The Soviet Union's unmanned Lunokhod 2 rover holds that mark, traveling 23 miles (37 km) on the moon back in 1973.

The great engineering that allowed Spirit and Opportunity to keep roving for so long is a big part of the six-wheeled robots' legacy, mission team members say.

"These are magnificently designed machines," Callas told SPACE.com. "We really have greatly expanded the exploration envelope by having a vehicle that can not only last so long but stay in very good health over that time, such that we can continue exploring."

Still in good health

While Opportunity is showing signs of its advanced age, such as an arthritic robotic arm, the rover remains in good shape overall.

"Its health right now is miraculously good," Callas said.

Still, the rover team is treating every day as a gift at this point, knowing that Opportunity could conk out at pretty much any time. Indeed, the sun will rise one day without a message from Opportunity, and its handlers will have to face the rover's death and the end of an amazing mission.

"It's going to be hard; it'll be the end of a great era," Callas said. "But we'll have to remember that we've had such a good run."

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall?or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook?and?Google+.?

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-opportunity-rover-begins-10-mars-125036382.html

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Video: Bright Horizons Surges in Debut

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50588010/

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Big crowds turn out for Stan Musial visitation

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? The entrance to the Cathedral Basilica looked more like that of a St. Louis Cardinals game on Thursday, just the way Stan Musial would have liked it.

Thousands of fans turned out for Musial's public visitation at the ornate Roman Catholic church, many of them bundled up against the bitter cold in red Cardinals jackets. Musial, a 24-time All-Star who remained a beloved figure in his adopted hometown a half-century after his playing career ended, died Saturday after years of declining health. He was 92.

Family, close friends and perhaps some of baseball's biggest names will be back at the cathedral for a funeral on Saturday. Thursday was for the fans.

Hours before the event began, hundreds lined Lindell Avenue leading to the steps of the cathedral. Just an hour into the six-hour visitation, 1,400 people had arrived, according to a woman keeping track.

When a bell chimed once as the doors opened, 68-year-old Evelyn Bourisaw, dressed in a red coat, exclaimed, "Time to play ball!"

Among the first to go in were Audrey Kissel, 86, and Erma Bergman, 88. The two were kindred spirits of Musial, not only of his generation but also former ballplayers. Kissel played second base and Bergman pitched in a women's professional league during World War II.

Rope lines moved mourners toward the open casket. Musial was dressed in a red blazer and a Cardinals necktie. His harmonica was in the front pocket.

Retired car salesman Bill Sanders, 64, was like many fans, as taken with Musial's good-natured ways as his considerable baseball prowess. Sanders noted that not once in a 22-year career did Musial get tossed out of a game.

"He was a true gentleman," Sanders said. "He even liked the umpires."

Certainly his baseball accomplishments were plentiful: a .331 lifetime average, seven NL batting titles, 475 homers and 3,630 career hits (1,815 at home and an equal number on the road). He helped the Cardinals to three World Series championships in the 1940s and another after his playing days ended ? he was general manager of the 1967 team that beat the Red Sox in seven games.

The GM job was short-lived, but Musial was a frequent figure at Busch Stadium, showing up for most opening days and many postseason games, sometimes playing the harmonica, always striking a pose of that unusual left-handed batting stance.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-crowds-turn-stan-musial-visitation-215113341--mlb.html

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Parents, Don't Let Beyonc?, Let's Move! Spokeswoman, Tell Your ...

Beyonc??literally pushing soda to kids.

Sign the Petition Asking Beyonc??to Ditch Pepsi/Resign from Let?s Move!

In a sickening development involving the First Lady?s?Let?s Move!?initiative to improve the nutrition, fitness and health of the nation?s children, the initiative?s celebrity spokeswoman,?Beyonc?, accepted a?$50 million deal to sell Pepsi. She?ll be hawking soda to kids on TV, at grocery stores, on Pepsi cans, during the Super Bowl halftime and in other marketing formats for the foreseeable future.

What was she thinking? ?Back in 2011,?Beyonc? and the First Lady teamed up for Let?s Move?s! campaign against childhood obesity with this kid?s workout?video. But now,?Beyonc? is playing for the opposing team as well, promoting a drink that dozens of studies have identified as the main driver of America?s current childhood obesity epidemic.

Never mind that:

- ?For each additional 12 ounce soda children consumed each day, the odds of becoming obese increased by 60%.

- ?Pepsi, Coca-Cola and other soft drink manufacturers specifically target children, teens, African-American youth and Hispanic youth through their marketing.

- ?Soda consumption has also been linked to increased rates of?heart disease, diabetes and dental decay.

None of those depressing statistics seemed to phase?Beyonc?, mother to a one-year old daughter. ?And she certainly didn?t pause to question whether she would be sending a dangerous mixed message to America?s youth, when many view her as a dazzling role model.

But?Beyonc??s massive insensitivity and cognitive dissonance could actually be a watershed moment in the debate about food marketing to children ? if only America?s parents stand up and protest her ill-advised deal to market soda to their kids.??Celebrity endorsements are a fact of life in the food marketing world and a noisy grass roots uprising against?Beyonc? could get other celebrities to back off from endorsing soda, sugary drinks, chips, candy and other non-nutritious foods to impressionable kids. Remember, once upon a time, celebrities regularly hawked tobacco products. ?Now they wouldn?t be caught dead having any association with cigarettes.

If enough parents?signed this petition, both?Beyonc? and the White House would take notice. While?Beyonc? may not be able to extricate herself from her Pepsi contract, the least she could do is resign from Let?s Move! and donate her fee to childhood obesity prevention efforts. And the First Lady, who has done so much to promote healthy eating, physical activity and awareness about childhood obesity, needs to ensure that her partners/celebrity spokespersons walk the talk.

The White House knows that Beyonc??s Pepsi deal is an embarrassment to Let?s Move! and Michelle Obama, but has remained mum on the topic. Just last week, the?White House actually removed a?petition?from its ?We the People? website, posted by environmental activist Laurie David, asking that?Beyonc??be ousted from the inauguration lineup?because of her damaging deal with Pepsi. ?I can?t help but find it telling that the White House posted a detailed response to a ?We the People? petition asking the administration to construct a?Death Star,?but censored the?Beyonc? petition.

Well, the White House can?t censor this petition:

Sign the Petition Asking?Beyonc??to Ditch Pepsi/Resign from Let?s Move!

Please sign and share this petition link with your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. ?If we don?t stand up to Big Soda and?Beyonc? pushing soda on our kids, no one will.

This post originally appeared on the Nancy Huehnergarth Consulting Blog.

?Follow Nancy Huehnergarth on Twitter: @nyshepa

Source: https://www.momsrising.org/blog/parents-dont-let-beyonce-lets-move-spokeswoman-tell-your-kids-to-guzzle-pepsi/

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Burger King drops supplier linked to horsemeat

LONDON (AP) ? British and Irish burger fans could face a Whopper shortage. Burger King has stopped buying beef from an Irish meat processor whose patties were found to contain traces of horsemeat.

The fast food chain said Thursday it had dropped Silvercrest Foods as a supplier for its U.K. and Ireland restaurants as a "voluntary and precautionary measure."

Last week Silvercrest, which is owned by ABP Food Group, shut down its production line and recalled 10 million burgers from supermarket shelves in Britain and Ireland after horse DNA was found in some beef products.

Burger King said the decision to drop the supplier "may mean that some of our products are temporarily unavailable." It stressed that "this is not a food safety issue."

The company added that there was "no evidence to suggest any of the Silvercrest product supplied to Burger King was affected" by the horsemeat contamination.

Rival McDonald's said it does not buy beef from Silvercrest or other affected suppliers.

The presence of horsemeat in beef is a sensitive issue in Britain and Ireland, which do not have a tradition of eating horses. The British tabloid The Sun reported the Burger King story under the headline "Shergar King," a reference to a famous racehorse.

Products from another Irish firm and one in Britain also were contaminated by horsemeat. Most had only small traces, but one burger of a brand sold by the British supermarket chain Tesco contained 29 percent horsemeat.

Irish food officials say an ingredient imported from an unspecified European country and used as filler in cheap burgers is the likely source of the horsemeat contamination.

Burger King says its patties are made from 100 percent beef.

Officials say the horsemeat poses no risk to human health, but the episode has raised food security worries.

More concern arose Thursday when lawmaker Mary Creagh, environment spokeswoman for Britain's opposition Labour Party, said that several horses slaughtered in the country last year had tested positive for phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory drug given to horses that can cause cancer in humans.

"It is possible that those animals entered the human food chain," she said.

The Food Standards Agency confirmed that meat from five horses had tested positive for the drug, but said none had been approved for sale in Britain. It said the relevant food safety authorities were informed in cases where the meat was exported to other countries.

The agency said no horsemeat in the current scandal contained phenylbutazone.

Very little horsemeat is sold in Britain but the country sends thousands of horses a year abroad to be killed for meat.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/burger-king-drops-supplier-linked-horsemeat-125951290--finance.html

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Genome Donators Can Be Sleuthed Out

Using publicly available information, researchers found they could figure out the identities of 50 individuals who had loaned their genes to science. Karen Hopkin reports.

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Since the first human genome sequence was published, thousands of people have submitted their DNA for scientific analysis. They made these donations anonymously?or so they thought. Now, using publicly available information, researchers found they could figure out the identities of 50 individuals who had loaned their genes to science. Their results, although not the names of the people, are in the journal Science. [Melissa Gymrek et al, Identifying Personal Genomes by Surname Inference]

Biomedical research depends on the participation of human subjects, and issues of privacy have always been a concern. When scientists share genomic data, they first strip away identifying information, like the individual?s name and date of birth. But is that really enough?

Researchers looked at a specific set of markers in genomes whose sequences were in a public database. And they found that by matching up these markers with sequences that people had submitted to genealogy web sites, they could identify some of the genome donors? relatives and, with a bit more sleuthing, come up with their actual names.

Of course, many people now post online accounts of what?s on their minds or even on their menus. But even those who are relatively relaxed about their privacy might think twice about their genomes going public.

?Karen Hopkin

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]
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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=21d768596e32ceac3c9226a91870772e

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