Rebuild Lost Empires From Sand--At Least Temporarily

Forget bulging muscles or a toned set of abs. If you really want to impress everyone on the beach this summer, a stunning sand castle is the way to go. And if your sculpting skills max out at Play-Doh snakes, these architectural sand castle molds will let you re-build the most stunning structures from past empires, ready to be lost to time once again once the tide rolls in.

At around $3 each you can complete the whole set for less than $20, and since they max out at just seven inches in size, they're perfect for crafting sandbox civilizations too. [Educational Toys Planet via Fancy]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/rebuild-lost-empires-from-sand-at-least-temporarily-560691522

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Syria: Arming rebels is 'dangerous' US decision

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? The decision by the United States and its allies to arm rebel groups in Syria is "very dangerous" and will prolong the violence and killing, Syria's foreign minister said Monday.

The warning came as an artillery shell slammed into a village in central Syria and killed 11 people, including a woman and six of her children, activists said, and a leading human rights group charged that Syrian forces are abusing women in custody for supporting the opposition to President Bashar Assad's regime.

Walid al-Moallem said sending more weapons to the opposition would also hinder efforts to convene a peace conference in Geneva to work on a negotiated solution. He said his country remains ready to take part but added that Assad will not step down. His resignation is a key opposition demand to be raised in any talks with Damascus.

Al-Moallem spoke two days after an 11-nation group that includes the U.S. met in Qatar and agreed to step up military and other assistance to the Syrian rebels. He said all those who met in Qatar "have Syrian blood on their hands."

U.S. Secretary of States John Kerry, who took part in the conference, would not disclose details of the aid, saying only that it would re-balance the fight between the rebels and the government. Assad's better-equipped forces are increasingly backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

"They will not be victorious no matter how much they conspire," al-Moallem said. He said arming the rebels "is a dangerous decision because it aims at prolonging the crisis, prolonging the violence and killing and encouraging terrorism."

President Barack Obama's change of policy was partly based on a U.S. intelligence assessment that Assad had used chemical weapons, but Kerry expressed deeper concern about Assad's foreign support. He said that Iranian as well as Hezbollah fighters had joined the war.

Al-Moallem denied that any Iranian fighters were in Syria. Damascus acknowledges that Hezbollah is assisting government troops.

The foreign minister said his regime was willing to take part in a peace conference, but would go to Geneva not to hand over power to the other side but rather to establish "a real partnership" and a national unity government that includes representatives of all Syrian society.

"President Bashar Assad will not step down," he said. "If anyone has such illusions on the other side, my advice to them is not to go to Geneva," he said, rejecting the opposition's demand that Assad's departure from power should top the agenda in at the peace conference.

He insisted Syria will not accept any solutions or ideas dictated from the outside.

Syria's main opposition bloc said the willingness of Assad's regime to attend the peace talks is not genuine and neither are the government's assurance it want to "build a real partnership" in Geneva.

"As it has done with all previous initiatives of the U.N. and Arab League missions, the Assad regime is stalling for time by attending Geneva," the statement by the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition said. "For Assad, this creates an opportunity for more destruction and for the Assad forces to gain more ground in Syria."

Syrian government troops clashed with opposition fighters Monday in central provinces of Homs and Hama. An artillery shell slammed into the village of Tarfawi in Hama province, killing at least 11 people, including a woman and six of her children, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The group relies on the network of activists inside Syria. It said government forces fired the shell.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in Syrian conflict that started in March 2011 as largely peaceful protest against Assad's rule. The uprising turned into a bloody insurgency in response to a military crackdown by regime forces on the protest movement. In the past year, the war has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones.

Also Monday, a rights group said Syrian military and fighters recruited from Assad's Alawite sect have arbitrarily detained female opposition activists, female relatives and neighbors of opposition activists and fighters, abusing and torturing them in custody.

Human Rights Watch said in a report that its activists interviewed 10 Syrian women who had been detained. Of the 10, eight were jailed because they were anti-government activists. All said they were abused by the security forces and the Alawite militiamen, known as shabiha, while in custody.

The abuse included electric shocks, extended time in stress positions, and beatings with metal rods, wires and nightsticks, the U.S.-based group said in a report. In a number of cases, women were also subjected to torture and sexual abuse, it charged.

The eight women were detained by the security forces at checkpoints or military raids on their homes. They were in custody for up to 14 months between February 2012 and April 2013, the group said.

HRW has been documenting abuses on both sides of Syria civil war during the 27 months of conflict.

The group said it has not received information about opposition forces detaining and mistreating female Syrian government supporters or relatives of those associated with government forces.

___

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-arming-rebels-dangerous-us-decision-163346184.html

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Connecting the Dots, Missing the Story

In this image released by the FBI on April 19 two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing walk near the marathon finish line on April 15.

Handout

Could Big Data have prevented 9/11? Perhaps?Dick Cheney, for one, seems to think so. But let's consider another, far more provocative question: What if 9/11 happened today, in the era of Big Data, making it all but inevitable that all the 19 hijackers had extensive digital histories?

It used to be that one's propensity for terrorism was measured in books or sermons. Today, it's measured in clicks. It's not that books or sermons no longer matter?they still do?it's just today they are consumed digitally, in a way that leaves a trail. And that trail allows us to establish patterns. Are the books you bought on Amazon today more radical than the books you bought last month? If so, you might be a person of interest.

The Tsarnaev brothers, who allegedly bombed the Boston Marathon earlier this year, are of this new breed of terrorists. The brothers felt at home in the world of Twitter and YouTube. And some of the videos reportedly favorited by Tamerlan, the older brother, are clearly of extremist nature. Had someone been analyzing the brothers' viewing habits in real time, a great tragedy might have been averted.

The good news?at least to Big Data proponents?is that we don't need to understand what any of these clicks or videos mean. We just need to establish some relationship between the unknown terrorists of tomorrow and the established terrorists of today. If the terrorists we do know have a penchant for, say, hummus, then we might want to apply extra scrutiny to anyone who's ever bought it?without ever developing a hypothesis as to why the hummus is so beloved. (In fact, for a brief period of time in 2005 and 2006, the FBI, hoping to find some underground Iranian terrorist cells, did just that: They went through customer data collected by grocery stores in the San Francisco area searching for sales records of Middle Eastern food.)

The great temptation of Big Data is that we can stop worrying about comprehension and focus on preventive action instead. Instead of wasting precious public resources on understanding the ?why??i.e., exploring the reasons as to why terrorists become terrorists?one can focus on predicting the ?when? so that a timely intervention could be made. And once someone has been identified as a suspect, it's wise to get to know everyone in his social network: Catching just one Tsarnaev brother early on may not have stopped the Boston bombing. Thus, one is simply better off recording everything?you never know when it might be useful.

Gus Hunt, the chief technology officer of the CIA, said as much earlier this year. "The value of any piece of information is only known when you can connect it with something else that arrives at a future point in time,? he said at a Big Data conference. Thus, ?since you can't connect dots you don't have ? we fundamentally try to collect everything and hang on to it forever." The end of theory, which Chris Anderson predicted in Wired a few years ago, has reached the intelligence community: Just like Google doesn't need to know why some sites get more links from other sites?securing a better place on its search results as a result?the spies do not need to know why some people behave like terrorists. Acting like a terrorist is good enough.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/06/with_big_data_surveillance_the_government_doesn_t_need_to_know_why_anymore.html

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France's Hollande believes hostages in North Africa alive

(Reuters) - France has "all reason" to believe that the French hostages being held by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are alive, President Francois Hollande said on Sunday.

The Islamist group said in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Saturday that eight European hostages, including five from France, were safe.

The message repeated previous statements by AQIM that it would kill the hostages if there were any new French military intervention in North Africa, but said it remained open to negotiations to free them.

"We are still looking for contacts, we have all reason to believe that the hostages are alive but we must seek to free them," Holland said during a visit to Qatar.

The AQIM statement coincided with rallies across France organized by the families of French hostages who were seized in Niger in September 2010 to mark more than 1,000 days of captivity.

French newspapers have reported the hostages had been transferred to Algeria and were in the hands of AQIM's new chief, Yahia Abou el Hamam. The French government declined to comment on the report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/frances-hollande-believes-hostages-north-africa-alive-123215332.html

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North Carolina talent takes the stage at the American Dance Festival ...

Every summer since 1978, Durham, NC has become a place of inspiration and a place where dreams are born and realized for dancers from all over the world. Choreographers, dancers and companies travel from the United Kingdom, Canada, New York City, etc., to take to the stage or studio at the American Dance Festival. Those of us living in the Triangle find ourselves in a vibrant international hub celebrating the greatest dance talent in the world ? Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, Scottish Dance Theatre, Shen Wei Dance Arts. It makes a lover of the arts glad to be a North Carolinian.

This year, audiences also had the opportunity to see work created by our own neighbors, choreographers who are part of North Carolina?s dance community. Together with the North Carolina Dance Festival, an annual adjudicated tour to cities around North Carolina, the American Dance Festival welcomed five local choreographers to the main stage at Reynolds Industries Theater.

The program was a sampling of diversity in North Carolina?s dance community. Each work was a beautiful example of smart, honest and timeless choreography.

Featured choreographers were Lindsey Kelley and Mindy Upin, John Gamble, Cara Hagan, and Natalie Marrone.

Kelley and Upin created and performed A Tribute and Reflection of the Relationship, a funny and endearing dance that felt like an authentic look at their own shared memories. It was set to a medley of Queen songs, and even with its intimacy among the two specific friends, it could have been any two friends who have sung [badly] along together to a song on the radio. The pair went from stillness to bursts of grand movement, but what made the dance most memorable were the little things, like making faces, bike-riding and a little kiss on a pony-tail. Watching the never-grow-up friendship journey was a sentimental and nostalgic experience.

Gamble?s Changeant d?habit de Sexe was set to cabaret music by Jacques Brel. Seven women dressed in dapper men?s attire and invoked European male impersonators in the late 1800?s. It was an intriguing dance of mostly pas de deux, with the seventh woman adding tension by disrupting the pairs, and perhaps exerting control.

Worlds Apart, by Hagan, was a series of four seemingly unrelated stories told by regular people. The dance was a moving visual expression of the storytellers? feelings and linked all of them together with the common thread of the dancer-human. From the woman discriminated against in her church who said she thought the idea behind Christianity was to love one another to the girl who saw her father cry in Pizza Hut, to the old friends who each swore the other was the most kind, the selected stories were examples of the joys and challenges we all face. Hagan?s work is comparable to literary fiction, with a theme you may not recognize or appreciate until the dance is over. It?s the sort of work that gains relevance in your mind as you continue to think about it the next day.

The final dance of the evening was Strega Stories Part II: Revolt by Marrone, in collaboration with the dancers. The dance was based on interviews with Italian Americans who have participated in traditional healing methods of southern Italy. It was visually and musically exciting to follow what felt like a band of gypsies on their journey. Ritual, tradition and healing were apparent themes, expressed in circles with a dancer animated by a hovering and shaking hand. The dance developed from a slow journey to traditional music to a tribal drum-circle kind of dance, reminiscent of a Grateful Dead show, down to the swirling skirts and dreadlocks. The scene was so vibrant it was often hard to believe there were only four dancers on stage.

You don?t have to wait to visit New York City to see fresh and original work on stage. From just about anywhere in North Carolina you are a short drive from dance artists dedicated to creating expressions of something true and relevant.

Tagged as: ADF, American Dance Festival, Cara Hagan, Jan Van Dyke, John Gamble, Lindsey Kelley, Mundy Upin, Natalie Marrone, NCDF, North Carolina Dance Festival, Reynolds Theater

Source: http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2013/06/north-carolina-talent-takes-the-stage-at-the-american-dance-festival/

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Hong Kong silent so far on possible Snowden extradition

HONG KONG (AP) ? Hong Kong was silent Saturday on whether a former National Security Agency contractor should be extradited to the United States now that he has been charged with espionage, but some legislators said the decision should be up to the Chinese government.

Edward Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

It is not known if the U.S. government has made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong government had no immediate reaction to the charges against Snowden. Police Commissioner, Andy Tsang, when was asked about the development, told reporters only that the case would be dealt with according to the law.

When China regained control of Hong Kong in 1997, the former British colony was granted a high degree of autonomy and granted rights and freedoms not seen on mainland China. However, under the city's mini constitution Beijing is allowed to intervene in matters involving defense and diplomatic affairs.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system. Leung also urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden."

Another legislator, Cyd Ho, vice-chairwoman of the pro-democracy Labour Party, said China "should now make its stance clear to the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) government" before the case goes before a court.

China has urged Washington to provide explanations following the disclosures of National Security Agency programs which collect millions of telephone records and track foreign Internet activity on U.S. networks, but it has not commented on Snowden's status in Hong Kong.

A formal extradition request, which could drag through appeal courts for years, would pit Beijing against Washington at a time China tries to deflect U.S. accusations that it carries out extensive surveillance on American government and commercial operations.

Snowden's whereabouts have not been publicly known since he checked out of a Hong Kong hotel on June 10. He said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that he hoped to stay in the autonomous region of China because he has faith in "the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate."

He and his supporters have also spoken of his seeking asylum from Iceland.

A prominent former politician in Hong Kong, Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party, said he doubted whether Beijing would intervene at this stage.

"Beijing would only intervene according to my understanding at the last stage. If the magistrate said there is enough to extradite, then Mr. Snowden can then appeal," he said.

Lee said Beijing could then decide at the end of the appeal process if it wanted Snowden extradited or not.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, said Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The complaint will be an integral part of the U.S. government's effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could become a prolonged legal battle. Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution.

Hong Kong lawyer Mark Sutherland said that the filing of a refugee, torture or inhuman punishment claim acts as an automatic bar on any extradition proceedings until those claims can be assessed.

"Some asylum seekers came to Hong Kong 10 years ago and still haven't had their protection claims assessed," Sutherland said.

Organizers of a public protest in support of Snowden last week said Saturday that there were no plans for similar demonstrations this weekend.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hk-silent-far-possible-snowden-extradition-051344237.html

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SAfrica: Former president says Mandela improving

Thabiso Boya, adds his get-well message on a poster for former South African President Nelson Mandela, at the Education Expo in Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, June 20, 2013. Mandela remains in the hospital for the 13th day. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Thabiso Boya, adds his get-well message on a poster for former South African President Nelson Mandela, at the Education Expo in Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, June 20, 2013. Mandela remains in the hospital for the 13th day. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, right, chats with her unidentified driver during her arrival at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

A giant statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela stands outside the Magistrate?s Court, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The statue is the work of Marco Cianfanelli. Well-wishers continued to send messages of love and support to Nelson Mandela, as he remained in hospital in a serious condition with a lung infection. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? A former South African president has said the health of Nelson Mandela is improving as the 94-year-old beloved anti-apartheid leader marked two weeks in the hospital Friday.

Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Mandela as president in 1999, made the comment Thursday night in an interview with Power FM, a South African radio station.

Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule, was taken to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 to be treated for a recurring lung infection. It marked the fourth time he has been hospitalized since December.

"I maintained very close contact with the family and the doctors about Nelson Mandela's condition," said Mbeki, who served two five-year terms as president.

"Nelson Mandela is in fact improving, in terms of his health," Mbeki said. "I think we really need to feel comforted that we still have him with us now."

The government had described Mandela's condition as serious but stable, but later said he was improving.

Ndaba Mandela, one of Mandela's grandsons, thanked the many people around the world who have sent messages of support for his grandfather during his illness.

"For us, as family, as long as he can still hear and understand what is said to him, and talk to us, we'll continue to celebrate him," The Star, a South African newspaper, quoted Ndaba Mandela as saying Thursday. He spoke at a media briefing about a football invitational in South Africa that will be part of celebrations surrounding July 18, Mandela's 95th birthday.

Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and became South Africa's first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-21-South%20Africa-Mandela-1st%20Ld%20Writethru/id-f1c11dc97a6c41d79add718579ff9130

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Dr. Carmen Harra: Building an Unlimited Identity

Soon after entering this world, we begin to build an identity that's unique to each of us: Our genetics, parents, teachers, friends, and overall environment serve to mold us into the persons we ultimately become. A toddler displays diminutive tendencies of the personality he will possess as an adult and is quickly "branded" with a specific set of character traits which make up his identity: He may fall into the category of the overachiever, the risk-taker, the shy one, the procrastinator, or perhaps a unique combination of all or none of the above. As children, we imagine nothing is out of reach and the world is ours to conquer. But with time we begin to fabricate self-imposed limitations, boundaries we ourselves erect as an attempt to "fit the mold" of our individual casts. For example, the attractive woman cannot possibly be intelligent, and the strong man cannot possibly be sensitive, right? Just as an actor must remain in character throughout a film, we are taught to think it is not right to exit the bounds of our own character. This false assumption can easily keep us from reaching our true potential. With time we begin to realize that the only ones who restrain our identity are, well, us.

A healthy dose of self-probing begs the question: Does who you are limit who you could be? All too frequently, we allow others to dictate who we are and who we should become. Society tells us which traits to associate with what identity, and the majority of us succumb to the notion of the masses. But we can change this. Reflect on these five principles to evaluate your current vision of who you are and expand your future vision of who you can become:

You are not what you seem: It's very easy to view ourselves in the same manner as others view us. We may not mean to, but we all judge books by their covers (e.g., the attractive woman not being intelligent). But when we voluntarily place ourselves within the categories others have designated for us, we drift away from our true nature. Remind yourself that within you there is much more than meets the average eye.

Small details are great features: We often overlook our positive attributes, our hidden talents, and the tiny traits we truly should admire. Note the great things you do on a daily basis. Take pride in all that you do right, in the actions you perform with perfection, and in the values you uphold with unyielding dignity. In this way, you can awaken a sense of self-worth within you and begin to focus more on your otherwise unseen but equally important features.

Contradict your stereotype: We all fall into a stereotype, and this is not a problem. The problem arises when we don't confront the conventions which confine us and forcefully tear down their walls. Understand your archetype, but perform actions and work to achieve goals which contradict its typical roles.

Reevaluate what's true for you: Self-reflection is critical in establishing a well-founded relationship with yourself. Making a simple list with two columns might reveal which beliefs are really yours and which ones were imposed upon you. The heading for the first column should read "I Believe..." while the heading for the second column should say "Because...." Fill the first column with your most common beliefs. Under the first column you might write "I believe in Christianity," and under the second column you might say, "because growing up my parents taught me this" or "because it just feels right for me." Finish your dual-sided list of beliefs, then revisit your writings and reevaluate why you believe the things you do.

Create a bigger version of yourself: Psychologically speaking, we live in a box -- our mentality is framed within a handful of beliefs, ideas, and things we know for sure. Each moment of each day, we are thinking, speaking, and acting within the contents of our mental box. But beliefs must be put into perspective, questioned, and sometimes disregarded altogether. Not doing so can lead to stagnation and to manifesting only a portion of our dreams. Jot down three life elements you wish to expand. You can write something like "I'm a nurse now, but I want to become a doctor." Underneath each element, write down how you will expand yourself to achieve your goal in realistic, timely ways.

The false limits we have set up for ourselves can be shattered to reveal the core of our genuine being. Use the following ten principles for building the most authentic version of yourself:

Speak freely.

Ask yourself each day, "What is it that I really want?"

Never compare yourself to others.

Engage in your natural talents.

Listen to advice sometimes but trust your intuition always.

Express gratitude daily.

Go against trends.

Believe in yourself wholeheartedly.

Dismiss distractions and invalid excuses.

Work towards your life purpose.

We are much more than we can imagine. But many of us have been conditioned to stifle our own potential. The discovery of our boundless nature is first made when we acknowledge that we can, and must, break down all self-inflicted limits. It is then that we begin our individual journeys down new or greater paths, and gently settle into our truest selves.

To your unlimited identity,
Dr. Carmen Harra

For more by Dr. Carmen Harra, click here.

For more on emotional wellness, click here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-carmen-harra/self-identity_b_3466548.html

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The Bump and PEOPLE Team Up for Royal-Worthy Giveaway

Enter for your chance to win a Kate Middleton-inspired giveaway featuring prizes worth up to $5,000.

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Former Enron CEO Skilling's sentence cut to 14 years

By Kristen Hays and Anna Driver

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge slashed 10 years off of his prison sentence of former Enron Corp Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling on Friday, a decision that could set him free as early as 2017.

U.S. District Judge Simeon Lake reduced his term to 14 years from 24 years, accepting a deal struck between prosecutors and Skilling's lawyers that will end years of appeals.

Under the deal, more than $40 million of Skilling's fortune, which has been frozen since his conviction in 2006, will be distributed to victims of Enron's collapse.

"This is not an easy decision," Lake told the hearing before he acknowledged both the gravity of Skilling's crimes and his charitable works in Houston, and in prison, where he reads to a blind inmate and teaches English and Spanish. He has also held a job fair for inmates about to be released.

In May 2006, a jury had convicted Skilling of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors for his role in maintaining a facade of success as Enron's energy business crumbled.

Enron founder Kenneth Lay also was found guilty of multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud. He died of heart failure six weeks after the trial ended, prompting Lake to throw out the conviction.

"We are relieved that we can now see the light burning at the end of the tunnel," Daniel Petrocelli, Skilling's attorney told reporters after the hearing.

Skilling, who looks much as he did when last seen in public in 2006 save a graying beard, thinner hair and eyeglasses, appeared relieved. His wife, former Enron corporate secretary Rebecca Carter, as well as his brother, Mark Skilling, and sister, Sue Skilling, all wept when Lake announced the new sentence.

Petrocelli hopes his client will be freed in 2017, which is possible with credit for good behavior and completion of an alcohol-abuse treatment program. Skilling is only now eligible for rehab, since a prisoner must have 10 years or fewer to serve.

Diana Peters, one of the thousands of Enron workers left jobless when the company collapsed, told the hearing that Skilling betrayed employee and investor trust. "I pray that your decision is to give Jeff Skilling the maximum sentence for his crimes," she said.

Skilling's resentencing had been pending since 2009, when a federal appeals court ruled that Lake wrongly added years to his sentence because Skilling's actions had jeopardized a financial institution.

In the interim his legal team pursued more appeals and sought a new trial, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010.

His lawyers were on their third such effort when they and U.S. prosecutors in May forged a deal for a 14- to 17-1/2-year sentence to end the litigation for good.

Skilling still has the longest sentence of more than two dozen former Enron executives, including Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, and others who pleaded guilty or were convicted of Enron-related crimes. All have served their prison terms.

More than 12 years after Enron's 2001 collapse threw thousands out of work, sparked federal probes and prompted Congress to crack down on corporate accounting, Skilling is a remnant of an era of scandal that landed several CEOs in prison.

Those include former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, who is serving a 25-year term for fraud and conspiracy in Louisiana - the only top executive to get a longer term than Skilling during that wave of prosecutions.

Skilling's new prison term comes amid a debate on how sentencing guidelines apply in white-collar crimes, where the penalty is often tied to the financial loss caused.

The American Bar Association recently established a group to look at those guidelines, while critics, like U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan in March, have urged they be scrapped. The U.S. Sentencing Commission has identified looking at how the guidelines apply to economic crimes as a priority.

RISE AND FALL

A graduate of Southern Methodist University and Harvard Business School, Skilling had been a star McKinsey & Co consultant when he caught Lay's eye in 1990 and joined Enron.

He led Enron's transformation from a staid U.S. natural gas pipeline company to a global energy-trading juggernaut that reached No. 7 on the Fortune 500. In 2000, Enron claimed to have $100 billion in revenue.

Skilling succeeded Lay as chief executive in February 2001 but abruptly resigned that August, just two months before Enron revealed hundreds of millions of dollars in third-quarter losses and a massive writedown in shareholder equity. Enron went bankrupt that December.

At his trial alongside Lay, Skilling insisted he had quit because he was worn out and troubled by Enron's sinking share price, not because he knew years of murky accounting were about to come to light.

"I am absolutely innocent," he said almost immediately after taking the witness stand. He told jurors he was devastated by the company's failure, saying "I bled 'Enron blue,'" referring to the color of the company logo.

Prosecutors called him a liar and crook who minimized or hid bad news in 2001 to keep analysts and investors bullish.

On Friday as U.S. trial attorney Patrick Stokes recounted Skilling's lies to investors and Enron employees, Skilling listened intently, his jaw tight, and once looked down in apparent frustration.

When the prosecutor and, later, Petrocelli noted that both of his parents and his 20-year-old son had died during his incarceration, Skilling's face went white and haggard.

He did not make a statement, leaving his written comments to Lake sealed from public view.

Fastow pleaded guilty to fraud in 2004, admitting to skimming millions of dollars from Enron through shady deals and kickbacks, and helped prosecutors secure indictments against Skilling and Lay.

He agreed to serve 10 years, but another judge reduced his term. Fastow went to prison in September 2006 and was released in 2011.

Since his release, Fastow has shunned media interviews but gained traction on the speaking circuit.

Next Wednesday he is slated to speak at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' global fraud conference in Las Vegas, and last year he spoke to business students at the University of Colorado and Dartmouth College.

The ACFE website notes under Fastow's biography on the conference agenda that the organization "does not compensate convicted fraudsters."

(Reporting by Anna Driver and Kristen Hays in Houston; Additional reporting by Eileen O'Grady; editing by Prudence Crowther)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-enron-ceo-skillings-prison-term-cut-14-193328873.html

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Don't Forget to Register for West Central Wildlife Habitat Workshop

Workshop will focus on managing grassland habitat

GREENVILLE, OH ? Space is still available at the habitat workshop series being offered to landowners wishing to improve habitat for wildlife and other conservation goals. The workshop series is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, ODNR Division of Forestry, Pheasants Forever (PF), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Ohio State University Extension, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

The Grassland Habitat workshop is the second in the series and will take place on Saturday, July 13th from 9:00 am ? 3:00 pm on the Rammel Farm located at 6879 Arcanum-Bears Mill Rd., Greenville, OH 45331. This event is $10/person with continental breakfast and lunch and reference materials to take home.

The purpose of the workshop series is to offer the landowner and wildlife enthusiast a well-rounded approach to managing their property to establish and maintain wildlife habitat. Each workshop will focus on a specific habitat type or wildlife species. Participants will learn techniques for managing land to benefit both game species and wildlife in general as well as information on funding and technical assistance. This grassland workshops main focus will be CRP mid-contract management, grass & wildflower identification, grassland site prep and seeding, weed control and more.

The participants must pre-register with the Darke Soil &Water Conservation District at (937) 548-1715 ext. 3. The registration deadline for the first workshop is July 5th, 2013.

Source: http://www.darkejournal.com/2013/06/dont-forget-to-register-for-west.html

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Logitech ships Harmony Ultimate Hub in August for $100, remote not required

To date, home theater mavens who've wanted Logitech's Harmony Ultimate Hub have had to buy it as part of a Harmony Ultimate or Harmony Smart Control bundle -- neither kit being a bargain for viewers with existing gear. They'll have a better option soon, as Logitech now expects to ship its promised stand-alone version of the Ultimate Hub to Europe and the US in August. Those who shell out $100 will have the same IR, RF and WiFi support as the bundled hub, just without the redundant hardware. They can even rely solely on Logitech's free Android or iOS apps for input, should a dedicated remote seem archaic. The Ultimate Hub may be well-timed: when alternative remote control bridges are fading away, Logitech may snag some of those customers looking for a replacement.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/19/logitech-ships-harmony-ultimate-hub-this-august-for-100/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teen girls

ATLANTA (AP) ? A vaccine against a cervical cancer virus has cut infections in teen girls by half, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study confirms research done before the HPV vaccine came on the market in 2006. But this is the first evidence of how well it works now that it is in general use.

"These are striking results and I think they should be a wake-up call that we need to increase vaccination rates," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Only about half of teen girls in the US have gotten at least one dose, and just a third of teen girls have had all three shots, according to the latest CDC figures.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. The vaccine protects against certain types of the human papillomavirus that cause most cases of cervical cancer. The shots work best if given before someone is sexually active so the emphasis has been on giving the shots to 11- and 12-year olds.

The CDC study compared infection rates in girls before and after the vaccine became available. In girls ages 14 to 19, the proportion infected with the targeted strains of HPV fell from about 12 percent to 5 percent, a reduction of 56 percent.

Among girls who had gotten the vaccine, the drop in HPV infections was higher ? 88 percent.

There are two vaccines against HPV, but the study mainly reflects the impact of Gardasil, the Merck & Co. vaccine that came on the market in 2006. A second vaccine approved in 2009 ? GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix ? probably had relatively little bearing on the results, said the CDC's Dr. Lauri Markowitz, the study's lead author.

Both vaccines are approved for use in males and females ? in ages 9 to 26 for females, and 9 to 21 in males. The vaccine was only recommended for boys in late 2011, and the CDC has not yet reported data on how many boys have gotten the shot since then. HPV vaccination requires three shots over 6 months.

An estimated 75 to 80 percent of men and women are infected with HPV during their lifetime. Most don't develop symptoms and clear it on their own. But some infections lead to genital warts, cervical cancer and other cancers. The study didn't look at cervical cancer rates. It can take many years for such cancers to develop, and not enough time has passed to know the vaccine's impact on cancer rates, CDC officials said.

The study involved interviews and physical examinations of nearly 1,400 teen girls in 2003 through 2006 and of 740 girls in 2007 through 2010.

The vaccine's impact was seen even though only 34 percent of the teens in the second group had received any vaccine, and only about 20 percent got all three doses. That result will likely feed an ongoing discussion about whether all three doses are necessary, Markowitz said.

Overall, the study found no significant change over time in the proportion of teens who'd ever had sex and in those who had multiple sex partners. However, it did find that a higher percentage of vaccinated teens said they'd had three or more sex partners.

That could have driven down infection rates, Markowitz noted, if the teens who got vaccinated were the ones at highest risk of getting an infection and spreading it.

The research was released online by the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

___

Online:

HPV info: http://www.cdc.gov/hpv/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hpv-vaccine-cut-infection-half-teen-girls-173123213.html

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'Nightline' anchor Moran heading to London for ABC

NEW YORK (AP) ? ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran is getting a new posting as the network's London-based chief foreign correspondent.

Moran will head overseas late this summer, ABC said Wednesday. Moran was ABC's chief White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005 and has done many overseas and domestic stories for "Nightline," most recently from Syria.

It's a revived position at ABC News. The late Peter Jennings spent several years as a London-based correspondent before becoming the network's chief news anchor.

Dan Abrams will replace Moran alongside Cynthia McFadden and Bill Weir as "Nightline" anchors.

Abrams will also be a chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News and expand his role on "Good Morning America," ABC News President Ben Sherwood said.

Abrams is a former general manager and show host at MSNBC and a legal correspondent for NBC's "Nightly News."

Abrams will be stepping back from daily operations at Abrams Media, a network of websites he founded that includes Mediaite, to devote more time to ABC News, Sherwood said.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nightline-anchor-moran-heading-london-abc-140251682.html

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BigRock and .biz Launch Program to Bring More Indian Businesses ...

-- BigRock joins hands with Neustar, the registry operator for the .biz TLD, to promote .biz as a preferred choice for Indian businesses

-- Rolls out integrated media campaign to build awareness about getting businesses online

-- Launches TVCs featuring new protagonists in BigRock?s quirky cast of Indian businesses

BigRock, one of India?s leading domain registrars and web hosting companies, today announced that is has joined hands with Neustar to promote .biz as the preferred domain for small businesses in India.

Neustar Inc., a provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecommunication, entertainment and marketing industries, also manages the domain name registry for .biz and has been working for over a decade since its launch in 2001 towards establishing .biz as a one-stop solution that helps businesses to enable their online presence with trust, recognition and optimum levels of business uptime.

As part of this initiative, BigRock and Neustar have outlined an aggressive outreach campaign that entails a series of new television commercials (TVCs), extensive digital outreach, and a complete online presence for businesses that includes a .biz domain, web hosting, hosted email @ their .biz domain, Google Adwords coupons worth Rs. 2500, and more all of which are integrated with an easy-to-use interactive website builder priced at Rs. 199.

Elaborating on the campaign, Bhavin Turakhia, Founder of BigRock said, ?Since we launched BigRock a few years ago, we have worked hard to bring home the message of why being online matters to Indian businesses through our unique messaging. For this .biz program we have just launched, we wanted to appeal to a small business owner?s intrinsic pride of ownership in her/his business ? which is something we believe binds every single business owner out there whether big or small. As a business owner myself, I am proud to associate myself with .biz and feel that our tagline for this campaign ?.biz ? when you are proud of your business? adequately captures this emotion. Today, when only one in 20 small businesses in India has an online presence we feel this message is important to get out there.?

Commenting on the partnership with BigRock, Alexander Berry, SVP at Neustar said, ?The penetration of the Internet and growth of the digital economy in India is very evident as well as exciting. India is already the 3rd largest Internet user base globally, presenting exciting opportunities for businesses that were earlier unheard of. Also, given the various touch points that exist to access the Internet today, it is an apt time for us to reach out to emerging Indian businesses, highlighting the potential and value that .biz and our solutions can offer. We have a thriving base of over 2.3 million .biz domain owners globally who clearly identify .biz as a natural domain extension for businesses. With the coming of new TLDs later this year, we believe it?s even more important to drive home this differentiation. Our partnership with BigRock is a commitment of our efforts in this direction and to bring a high quality domain extension with global appeal to Indian business owners.?

?By industry estimates we are activating upwards of 50,000-70,000 smartphone users every day in India and these constitute the vast majority of the new Internet users coming online. Rapidly accelerating trends in mobile data usage amongst our population means that in 24 months? time the Indian Internet scenario will be even more exciting than it is today. We look at growth in other mobile led geographies such as China where the increase in domains and web presence by businesses has been unprecedented in the last few years and draw inspiration from this trend. A similar trend will manifest in India in the next few years. We look to both educate and build strong value propositions with our .biz program for our customers across India. The .biz website package we offer contains everything a business owner needs to build a basic informational website or a more complex e-commerce enabled portal? said Shashank Mehrotra, GM & Business Head atBigRock.

He added further ?The Neustar team have been fantastic partners for us and their commitment to this market and in helping us build this program has been truly outstanding. We look forward to working with them to make this program a resounding success.?

About BigRock

BigRock, an ICANN accredited registrar and hosting company, is a leading provider of web-presence solutions to small-businesses, professionals and individuals. We provide our customers a complete suite of products that help them establish & grow their online presence. Our product portfolio includes - domain registration, web-hosting services, business-class email services, website builder products, and digital certificates. Our product platform represents over 12 years of investment in technology R&D and powers over 8 million domains worldwide.

About Neustar:

Neustar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR) is a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecommunications, information services, financial services, retail, media and advertising sectors. We apply our advanced, secure technologies in location, identification and evaluation to our Customers' data to help them promote their businesses and protect them from fraud and cyber-security threats. Neustar has three defined business segments: Carrier Services, Enterprise Services and Information Services.

To know more, connect with us on:

Twitter | Facebook

Source: Business Wire India

Source: http://www.andhranews.net/India/2013/BigRock-biz-Launch-Program-Bring-More-742.htm

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5 Reasons Apple Should Just Buy Sirius Already - Seeking Alpha

At this year's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple (AAPL) announced plans to launch a streaming music service to compete with Pandora (P) and Sirius XM (SIRI), called iTunes Radio. The first pictures of it make it look suspiciously like Pandora. Also, it appears that it's going to operate in the exact same fashion.

(click to enlarge - source apple.com)

Techcrunch.com reported on the unveiling of iTunes radio:

iTunes Radio is essentially what we've been hearing it would be: a streaming music service that takes your tastes into account in order to play tracks that are likely to be in line with your tastes. Apple really has essentially taken its Genius jukebox-style feature, which combs your library and builds genre-based playlists, or suggests recommended artists and tracks based on what you're currently listening to. The difference with the new service is that it can access the entire iTunes catalog, which, at this point, is well over 26 million tracks. Sony, Universal and Warner are all on board.

While I'm sure that iTunes Radio will hold its own and square off with both Pandora and Sirius, I can't get the argument for not just buying Sirius satellite radio out of my head. Sirius is heading in the direction of internet streaming, so is Apple. It makes sense to me. The purchase of Sirius would not only get Apple arguably ten steps ahead in the streaming radio department, it would add partnerships, revenue, and almost $9 billion in assets to the balance sheet.

Here's what seem like the 5 most obvious reasons to me for why Apple should pony up the dough and buy Sirius XM.

1. Apple Can Afford It Easily

With a market cap of just over $20 billion, it would literally be nothing for Apple to make a tender offer for Sirius. Apple has well over $100 billion sitting in the bank and is banking about 5 billion a quarter and taking on debt. At this rate, Apple would have Sirius paid off in just a year and its cash pile back to the shape it was in pre-offer.

So, the cash isn't an issue.

2. It Makes Apple's Smart Move Into Cars Much Easier

I spent the better part of a previous article about the WWDC on Apple commending them on their decision to get into automobiles. This is an incredibly smart thing to focus on that will also prove to be lucrative if Apple can execute - and I believe they will.

In my last article, I noted:

As reported by The Verge:

Apple added turn-by-turn directions to its last version of iOS, and it's expanded vehicular options with iOS 7. A new "iOS in the Car" system will mirror your iPhone on the infotainment displays found in many cars: it's supported on everything from Kias and Hondas to Jaguars and Ferraris. That means Maps, Siri, Messages, and more will be available directly on the dashboard. You'll have to wait a while to use it, though; car manufacturers will begin adding the feature in 2014.

This is a big one for a couple of reasons - getting iOS into vehicles is going to be another place where you're interacting with the Apple ecosystem. You're going to have Apple available everywhere you have media available.

I started to allude to this in my previous article about Apple, speaking about how Apple is moving from current products to products that we use in all facets of life.

Even though Apple has already made allusions at WWDC 2013 to the partnerships that they've made when dealing with car manufacturers, Sirius also has long standing relationships with many car companies.

According to Forbes, the long standing partnerships that Sirius has with car vendors remains one of its biggest assets:

Every year Sirius XM pays a large sum to its OEM (original equipment manufacturers) partners to keep its radio equipment flowing into the new car market at around a 60% penetration rate. Of these 60% who buy a car equipped with satellite radio, just under half (45-46%) tend to convert to self-pay subscribers after the promotion trial runs out.

That's a healthy rate and therefore Sirius XM will continue to benefit from its relationships with the car makers. For instance, the company has a deal with General Motors which is valid till September 2020. It also has entered into long-term contracts with other car makers such as Ford, Toyota, Kia, Bentley, BMW, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi. Several trucks, boats and recreational vehicles also include Sirius XM radios as standard installation.

Car sales in the U.S. are picking up with a gradual improvement in the economy. This automotive market growth is being further helped by higher availability of financing and lease deals. Overall auto sales in the U.S. stood at around 14.5 million in 2012 and are expected to cross 15 million in 2013. Furthermore, tax breaks on vehicles up to $49,500 including passenger automobiles, motorcycles, motor homes and trucks are likely to spur sales. Additional tax credits for choosing hybrid, fuel cell, alternative fuel and advanced lean-burn technology vehicles have been offered since 2005.

3. It Gives Apple Instant Access to Serious Infrastructure

This is the biggest benefit if you ask me. Sirius, with $8.6 billion in assets, already has absolutely everything and anything necessary infrastructure-wise in place. A deal of this magnitude would link Apple up with a major infrastructure network and would expand their streaming internet audio to also include satellite - something they're not planning on currently going into.

SA Contributor "Crunching Numbers" points out, aside from the obvious, another "hidden" asset that Sirius has:

Before Sirius and XM merged, each company had FCC licenses covering 12.5 MHz of Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, or SDARS, spectrum. After the merger formed Sirius XM Radio , the company had licenses that covered 25 MHz of SDARS spectrum. Since the two companies had broadcast similar programming, it would seem like there is an extra 12.5 MHz of bandwidth, doesn't it? It should be extra bandwidth that the company can use to increase programming or sell.

Gurufocus.com also points out the access Apple would have to Sirius's satellites:

The fascinating detail regarding how SIRI works is in its satellites. SIRI owns nine orbiting satellites total, combining the satellites in the SIRIUS system with the satellites in the XM system, and a tenth satellite that is on reserve as a spare. The company has an additional satellite being developed and hopes that it will be launched at some point this quarter. SIRI's satellite radio services also extend beyond the automobile. SIRI has radio channels with Dish Network (DISH) and a number of radio channels available through subscriptions with major mobile phone companies such as AT&T (T), Sprint (S), and Research In Motion (RIMM). SIRI has minority ownership in Sirius Canada and hopes to continue to extend its presence globally.

4. It Locks Up an Insane Amount of Content

Think getting your foot in the door with the automobile manufacturers is a huge step ahead? Think of the content that Apple would lock up and have access to immediately upon purchasing Sirius.

From Sirius's website:

SiriusXM is also one of the world's largest pure-play audio entertainment companies and we are among the largest subscription media companies in the United States, offering an impressive array of exclusive content that spans virtually all genres and interests, including Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Laura, Jamie Foxx, Opie & Anthony, Bob Edwards, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo,Cristina Saralegui, Jimmy Buffett, Elvis, Eminem, The Grateful Dead, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and Ti?sto. SiriusXM is the ultimate destination for sports fans, offering listeners sports talk and live play-by-play from the NFL, Major League Baseball?, NASCAR?, NBA, NHL?, PGA TOUR?, IZOD IndyCar? Series,FORMULA 1, soccer, college sports, and more.

5. It Saves Sirius From Apple & Puts Major Pressure on Pandora

One of the main points I made in my last article is that iTunes Radio isn't only just going to be great for Apple, it's going to be terrible news for Pandora and Sirius. By Sirius and Apple joining up, it reduces the risk that Apple is going to have a negative effect on Sirius and sells the company at the highest valuation it's ever had.

Gurufocus.com makes the case for going long Sirius versus Pandora:

In 2010, SIRI told investors that the company would grow its subscriber base by 500,000 and by year-end, SIRI had more than doubled that amount with 1.4 million new subscribers. Also, free cash flow from 2008 to 2010 has increased from $-283 million to positive $201 million and SIRI has experienced growth in net income over the past two years from $-352.04 million in 2009 to $43.06 million in 2010. These are two sure signs that SIRI is focused on expanding its customer base and making growth a priority. Capital expenditures have been decreasing for SIRI and after the launch of their next satellite into orbit in the fourth quarter of this year their satellite replacement cycle will be done. This is significant because this will enable satellite capital expenditures to decline by nearly $90 million in 2011 and by an additional $100 million in 2012, which will amount to nearly zero capital expenditures for satellites until 2016 or 2017. With the company not spending the extra capital on satellites, this will enable them to work on other research and development projects and further expand their radio presence.

So, combining the two companies would almost certainly push out Pandora, as the struggling startup would ultimately not have a chance against an Apple/Sirius partnership.

Conclusion

I'll first conclude by running through some of the bearish arguments on why this might not work. Some would argue that Sirius is expensive and overvalued, as it's trading at nearly its all-time highs. For a company with $8.5 billion in assets that is growing at the rate Sirius is, I don't think it's expensive.

Also of note would be the hardware issue. Naysayers would argue that the Sirius receivers in cars would be a big difference from what Apple intends on doing with iOS in cars. However, that's moot due to the fact that eventually all cars will be outfitted with touch screens for their radio and other controls. Before 2015, it'll likely be the standard across the board. New cars that are coming out today, like the Ford Fusion, all control their Sirius through touch screens - I'd argue that make its even easier to integrate iOS with Sirius in cars.

Finally, some would argue that it would make Apple too big and bloated and that there could an anti-trust issue. This is probably the biggest issue to be considered. If Mel Karmazin was still at the helm at Sirius, I'd say that he'd get it done (as his track record suggests), but regulatory difficulty would likely be the biggest hurdle in this situation.

I hope this article puts some perspective on how likely an event like this could actually be. When I brought this up to several investor friends of mine, it was chuckled at - until I made this case. Whether you invest in Apple, Sirius, or Pandora, I wish you the best of luck as always.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1507932-5-reasons-apple-should-just-buy-sirius-already?source=feed

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Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak

Prosecutors can use a suspect?s silence during informal police questioning as evidence of guilt at a subsequent trial, the US Supreme Court said on Monday.

In a case with important implications for individuals at the early stages of a police investigation, the high court said that a suspect must verbally invoke his or her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to prevent police and prosecutors from using any resulting silence and incriminating body language as evidence of guilt during a jury trial.

?The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no one may be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; it does not establish an unqualified right to remain silent,? Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about the US Constitution? A quiz.

?Before petitioner could rely on the privilege against self-incrimination, he was required to invoke it,? Justice Alito added in turning aside an appeal by a defendant convicted of murder in Texas.

The high court split 5 to 4 on the issue, with the court?s five-member conservative wing rejecting a claim to the Fifth Amendment privilege in the case under scrutiny and the four-member liberal wing supporting such a claim.

The issue arose in the case of Genovevo Salinas, who was charged and convicted in the shooting death of two brothers in Texas in 1992.

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During the initial stages of the police investigation, detectives conducted an informal interview with Mr. Salinas. He was not under arrest and police had not advised him of his right to remain silent or consult a lawyer.

Salinas readily answered all of the detectives? questions ? except one. After nearly an hour of questions and answers, one of the detectives asked him if the shotgun police had recovered from the Salinas house earlier that day would match the shells recovered at the scene of the murder.

Salinas fell silent. He did not respond. One of the officers would later testify that Salinas ?looked down at the floor, shuffled his feet, bit his bottom lip, clinched his hands in his lap, began to tighten up.?

The detective asked some additional questions that Salinas answered. The only question Salinas declined to answer related to whether the shells found at the murder scene would match Salinas? shotgun.

At his trial, the prosecutor presented testimony from the investigator about how Salinas had answered many questions by the police ? but refused to answer one. The prosecutor told the jury in his closing that Salinas? silence was evidence of the defendant?s guilt.

Salinas was convicted of the double killing and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

On appeal, his lawyer challenged the use of Salinas? silence as evidence against him. The lawyer argued that it violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed and upheld the conviction.

In affirming the Texas court, the Supreme Court said on Monday that Salinas? Fifth Amendment claim ?fails because he did not expressly invoke the privilege against self-incrimination in response to the officer?s questions.?

In effect, the court said Salinas could not take advantage of his right to remain silent by merely remaining silent.

In a dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer and his three colleagues offered a sharply different view of the constitutional protections involved.

?The Fifth Amendment prohibits prosecutors from commenting on an individual?s silence where that silence amounts to an effort to avoid becoming a witness against himself,? Justice Breyer wrote.

?I would hold that Salinas need not have expressly invoked the Fifth Amendment,? Breyer said. ?The context was that of a criminal investigation. ? And it was obvious that the new question sought to ferret out whether Salinas was guilty of murder.?

Breyer added: ?These circumstances give rise to a reasonable inference that Salinas? silence derived from an exercise of his Fifth Amendment rights.?

Two conservative justices would go even further than the plurality decision authored by Justice Alito.

In an opinion concurring with the judgment, Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia said that even if Salinas had invoked his Fifth Amendment right to silence the prosecutor?s comments would still be permissible at his trial because they did not compel Salinas to give self-incriminating testimony.

Legal analysts offered a mixed reaction to the court?s decision.

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, praised the majority justices for rejecting an attempt to ?expand the already bloated restrictions on police questioning and its use in evidence.?

He added: ?This evidence is clearly admissible under the Fifth Amendment as enacted and originally understood. In their push to expand the Fifth Amendment privilege far beyond its common law scope, the four dissenting justices consider only the interests of the murderer, barely mention the victims, and give no weight to the need to punish criminals and put them safely behind bars.?

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, was critical of the opinion. ?What today?s ruling by the Supreme Court says, essentially, is that citizens had better know what their rights are and understand when those rights are being violated, because the government is no longer going to be held responsible for informing you of those rights before violating them,? he said.

The case was Salinas v. Texas (12-246).

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-remain-silent-suspect-must-speak-005700241.html

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