How Google Can Save Android from Patent Lawsuits - Android's open-source code and ready availability to manufacturers are boons to developing economies and high-tech corporations alike, from "community knowledge workers" in Uganda to companies like HTC and Samsung. Both corporations are under fire by Apple, though, which is trying (and succeeding) to ban their Android smartphones and tablets using patent law.
Meanwhile, well-funded "patent trolls" like Lodsys are going after indie Android app developers, for supposedly infringing patents they didn't even know about and can't defend themselves against. What is Google to do, as the Android world fractures around it?
Google Exec John Lagerling says that "we have very strong paths that we can take to protect the values of Android". He wasn't very specific about what those "strong paths" entail, but I have an idea that might help:
Indemnify all Android manufacturers and developers.
In a nutshell, Google should step up and take responsibility, by assuming the costs of the ongoing patent lawsuits and protecting all current and future Android device manufacturers. It should also revise the Android Market developer's agreement, so that instead of shaking down Android developers individually, a patent troll like Lodsys will have to deal with the titan itself.
A bold move? Expensive and potentially suicidal, maybe? It's not completely unprecedented: In response to Microsoft's vague patent threats a few years ago, business software vendor Red Hat indemnified all of its customers against lawsuits. The key difference, though, was that in Red Hat's case, nobody ever sued anyone. The company wasn't stepping up to bat for others, it was calling Microsoft's bluff.
Google's, and Android's, situations are far more dangerous. For all that Apple's patents may be spurious (Apple sued Nokia over the exact same patents last year), Samsung's devices really do bear an uncanny resemblance to the iPhone and iPad. And Google itself seems to have been aware from the get-go that Android would have lots of patent issues, and to have decided to go ahead anyway.
That's why Google needs to do this.
The tech titan needs to own up to what it's done. Google's right when it points out, in blog posts, the unfairness of the patent system and the way it destroys innovation. But at the same time, Google widely touts Android's open-source code and supposed openness, while keeping mum about inconvenient truths like HTC's royalty payments to Microsoft.
Should HTC have to pay Microsoft, for the privilege of using something that neither of them invented? No way. So instead of paying the patent trolls, companies like HTC and Samsung should instead be paying Google a fee for the privilege of using its closed-source, exclusive apps, like Google Maps and the Android Market. That fee could go towards the costs of a long-term assault on the broken patent system. Meanwhile, Google could increase its Android Market developer fees, and win some decisive battles against Lodsys in order to dissuade other trolls from setting up literal toll booths.
It's either that, or downplay Android's "openness" in favor of a warning label: If you write any apps or build any smartphones that use this, you will be attacked.
Tags : How Google Can Save Android from Patent Lawsuits
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How Google Can Save Android from Patent Lawsuits
New HostGator Joomla Install Guides and Videos Available at Joomla Hosting Reviews
People Installing Joomla for the first time know it is a challenging task. This is why Joomla Hosting Reviews created a series of simplified HostGator video install guides and step-by-step visual documentation. These install guides make installing Joomla a snap.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 11, 2011
http://www.JoomlaHostingReviews.com has created several HostGator install guides to assist with installing Joomla. The guides cover installing Joomla using the standard web installer,Fantastico by cPanel, and the Hostgator QuickInstall App. Each guide includes both step-by-step documentation with screenshots and a video showing an actual Joomla installation with detailed narration. The video is hosted at Youtube for universal viewing. For those not familiar with hosting Joomla at hostgator check this HostGator Review.
Since Joomla is a database driven web application, Installation can be the most challenging part of creating a successful website. Some shy away because it seems too complex. Joomla Hosting Reviews saw the need while monitoring the Joomla community and decided to invest the time and effort in creating detailed helpful install guides. These guides are designed to be the simplest, most user-friendly articles available for the average user.
There are three methods of installing Joomla at HostGator. They are: the standard Joomla web installer, the HostGator QuickInstall App, and the Fantastico one-click installer.
The Standard Joomla Install Method. The traditional method of Installing Joomla at Hostgator is to use the standard web installer. The guide covers downloading Joomla, setting up the sever environment, then running the Install package. If you prefer watching a video, you are in luck. Joomla Hosting Reviews has added a video install guide. Illustrating this install method.
HostGator QuickInstall Joomla app. Developed by HostGator, the QuckInstall application simplifies installing joomla into a couple of steps. Just follow the guide and login to the HostGator cPanel to start.Fantastico a third party one-click installer, and the Fantastico HostGator Joomla Install guide shows you step-by step how it works. Fantastico has been providing installation support for many different web applications including Joomla.
Steven Johnson, Site administrator for Joomla Hosting Reviews said, “We literally spent months researching the most efficient ways to put together these tutorials so that they are easy to use and cover all essential points of a Joomla installation. We are hoping the Joomla and web hosting community will be much better off because of this work.” Regarding the latest redesign of Joomla Hosting Reviews, Steven said, “We’re are taking the knowledge we learned the hard way and passing it to others so they will save time and resources.”
Joomla Hosting Reviews, is owned and managed by Intown Web Design of Atlanta, GA. They are not related in any way with the Official Joomla Project or HostGator. It is a website that brings hosting and server help to the Joomla community.
They have worked with Joomla and web hosting for over six years and established themselves as a leader in user and expert reviews, advice and other helpful hosting information.Intown Web Design, located in Atlanta, Georgia focuses on web development for small to medium sized companies that are interested in functional, stylish, search engine optimized websites. The primary focus is Joomla but have experience in most other popular open source applications such as Drupal and WordPress.
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Google to Open-Source Android App Inventor
Google's App Inventor is a free online tool that lets you build your own apps, for smartphones running its Android operating system. It doesn't require any programming experience, so you don't need to type a single line of code; just fit pieces together like in a puzzle.
Android is open-source, which means that the programming code is available online for free, for anyone who wants to take it and make something with it. App Inventor, however, is not, meaning that those who use it are dependent on Google's good graces to keep it open.
The bad news for App Inventor fans: Google's good graces are running out. The company has announced that it will take App Inventor down within the next 90 days. But the good news is that it has also said it will make the programming code open-source, so that anyone can use it on their own. It will also give special attention to "support[ing] the educational use of App Inventor."
Educational use? What's that mean?
A lot of high school computer classes use App Inventor to learn the basic concepts of programming, like how an app works behind the scenes, without getting hands dirty with code. Judging by the comments on Google's announcement, a lot of teachers and students are upset by Google's decision to take App Inventor down. Perhaps Google edited in its intent to support schools after the fact.
Can I still get started using App Inventor?
Yes, but keep in mind that Google's official App Inventor site is going to shut down in the next few months.
What do I do then?
Google will have someplace where you can download the open-source code to App Inventor, along with instructions for how to install it on your own web server.
I don't have a web server, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't understand the instructions.
It's possible that somebody else likes App Inventor enough that he or she will create a new public version for others to use. That's what happened to Etherpad after Google bought it out; the Etherpad code was open-sourced, and pretty soon afterwards a bunch of public Etherpad sites opened up.
Can I use App Inventor to make and sell apps on the Android Market?
The App Inventor FAQ says no, you can't. But it's a well-known secret that you can perfectly well, as long as you know how to turn the file App Inventor creates into one that the Android Market will accept. Fortunately, there are a bunch of tutorials online that explain how to do this.
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Natural Blondes
Blondes have more fun, or so they say. But there are a bevy of famous brunettes and redheads who were born blonde. Click ahead to see some stars who traded their flaxen locks for darker hues.
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Hollywood : Mariah Carey Makes A Splash With Toned Post-Baby Beach Bod
New mom Mariah Carey is making a splash with her toned post-baby body!
"Ocean work out! It's been a loooong time since I've been in the ocean," the 41-year-old new mother of twins Tweeted on Tuesday, along with a photo of her in the water.
PLAY IT NOW: 2011 BET Awards: Nick Cannon ‘Sad’ To Leave Mariah & The Kids At Home
Mariah donned a black and teal one-piece, sunglasses and black visor while showing off her toned arms in the pic.
The singer previously told People that she loved working out in the water, telling the mag that water aerobics "is actually three times more effective" than other types of exercise.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Hottest Beach Bods
Mariah and husband Nick Cannon became the proud parents of twins - Moroccan and Monroe - on April 30, which was the couple's fourth wedding anniversary.
Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Judge awards MGA $309 million in Bratz spat
Judge awards MGA $309 million in Bratz spat
A federal judge ordered toy giant Mattel Inc. to pay rival MGA Entertainment more than $309 million on Thursday, marking another tumultuous chapter in the years-long legal fight between the two companies over ownership of the lucrative Bratz fashion doll line.
The judge's order marks the latest stunning reversal of fortune for the upstart MGA, which has been involved in a legal battle with Mattel since 2004 over who owns the Bratz doll. The dolls with pouty lips, hip hop-style clothing and oversized feet were aimed at "tweens," or girls ages 9 to 11, and flew off the shelves when they debuted in 2001.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter reduced a previous jury award from more than $88 million to $85 million but then awarded Los Angeles-based MGA an additional $85 million in punitive damages for trade secrets misappropriation. He also awarded MGA and its Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian $137 million in legal fees related to copyright and trade secrets issues and more than $2 million in legal fees and related costs on the trade secrets claims.
The total was more than $309.8 million, according to court papers and MGA lead counsel Jennifer Keller.
Mattel said in a statement that it was disappointed with the ruling and would "review the court's ruling and evaluate next steps." The El Segundo-based toy maker can appeal.
Michael Zeller and John Quinn, who handled the case for Mattel, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Mattel first filed a lawsuit in 2004 alleging that Bratz designer Carter Bryant was employed at Mattel when he created the Bratz dolls.
In 2008, a federal jury in Riverside sided with Mattel and awarded it $100 million — but the verdict was overturned on appeal and the case sent back for retrial.
After a second trial, this time in Santa Ana, a jury in April rejected Mattel's claims and instead awarded MGA damages in a counter-claim. The smaller toymaker had alleged that Mattel used hired gumshoes to spy on its toy designs and marketing plans at trade shows and stole its trade secrets.
Mattel filed post-trial motions asking for a new trial and challenging whether the 26 trade secrets MGA alleged it stole actually qualified as trade secrets under the law.
The judge, however, denied the motion for a new trial and rejected Mattel's arguments on the trade secrets.
Carter lowered the original $88.5 million in damages on the trade secrets claims to $85 million after finding the jury made a mathematical error and awarded damages on one claim twice. But the judge then awarded an additional $85 million in punitive damages.
"We are disappointed with the recent rulings on the post-trial motions. Mattel strongly believes that the outcome at the trial level is not supported by the evidence or the law," Mattel said in a statement. "Additionally, we remain committed to finding a reasonable resolution to the litigation, and are focused on our primary goal — to make and sell great toys."
Keller, the MGA attorney, said the ruling was a huge win for the smaller company. She said the judge's carefully worded rulings seemed to leave little room for Mattel to win on appeal.
"I think Judge Carter was very, very careful in everything he did to really give Mattel the benefit of the doubt," she said in a telephone interview. "His rulings were really right down the middle."
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Technology : Yet another possible iPhone 5 image surfaces
Technology : Yet another possible iPhone 5 image surfaces
We got a glimpse at the purported iPhone 5 recently, and the phone failed to overwhelmingly impress the masses. In fact it was quickly labeled an undoubted fake. Now a new “leaked” image is making the rounds, originally posted to MacRumors and taken at the office of French carrior. While we’re sure that more than a few of these types of stories are going to start surfacing from now until the product’s eventual (and possibly pushed back) launch, it’s worth a look. Thoughts?
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The 4-year-old who spends $46,000 a month
The 4-year-old who Supermodel Linda Evangelista is requesting an eye-popping amount in child support for her son. Does any pre-schooler need that much "support"?
During her peak popularity years, iconic supermodel Linda Evangelista, 46, once said that she wouldn't "wake up for less than $10,000 a day." Now, apparently, her 4-year-old son, Augustin, won't wake up for less than $46,000 a month. That's the amount in child support Evangelista is demanding of the boy's biological father, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault (who's married to actress Salma Hayek, with whom he also has a 4-year-old daughter). Evangelista claims she needs $46,000 a month to provide for Augustin in the "manner to which he has grown accustomed" — including 24/7 nanny care, personal drivers, and private school tuition. Is this amount ridiculous, or appropriate for a toddler of Augustin's status?
This is "absolutely sick": Even if Augustin is used to these extravagances, says Monica Bielanko at Babble, it doesn't mean he needs them. And just because Evangelista and Pinault can afford these perks, "it doesn't mean they should" provide them. Three nannies and a back-up nanny waiting in the wings? If that's what necessary for a mother to raise her son, then she "shouldn't have children."
"Toddler needs $46,000 a month to get by, says supermodel"
Well, everyone has a different normal: It's an eye-popping figure to most Americans, but in Evangelista's circle, this isn't outrageous, says Robert Frank at The Wall Street Journal. A representative from a New York-based lifestyle management firm for wealthy families confirms that all the expenses Evangelista lists, from the luxury clothing to security, are quite typical for affluent New Yorkers. In other words, Mr. Pinault: "You're getting a bargain."
"How does a four-year-old spend $46,000 a month"
Forget the $46,000 figure. It's the timing that's odd: It "seems extra weird," says Linda Sharps at The Stir, that Evangelista is taking Pinault to court now, four years after Augustin was born. Perhaps the lawsuit isn't about the "welfare of her son," and has more to do with jealousy. Pinault, after all, reportedly spends $50,000 a month on his daughter with actress Salma Hayek. "Hell hath no fury like a washed-up supermodel left in the dust while her rich French lover marries a more famous younger woman."spends $46,000 a month
Homeless man's death after arrest outrages father
In the nearly two decades since his son descended into madness, Ron Thomas has worried every day that the schizophrenic 37-year-old would die of exposure or illness on the streets. He never imagined the end would come in a violent confrontation with police.
The death last month was the end of a trajectory that began when Kelly Thomas was in his early 20s and started showing the first signs of what would later be diagnosed as schizophrenia: he shuttled between addresses, preferred to sleep on the floor and stopped showering.
In treatment, Thomas did well and was able to hold down a job — but when he stopped taking his pills, he disappeared onto the streets. He racked up an array of charges, from public urination to assault with a deadly weapon, and alarmed his parents with his bizarre behavior.
"My daughter and I have talked for years that we'd get the call that something had happened to him, whether it was from organ failure because he's not drinking enough fluids or the elements or maybe gang activity," said his father, Ron Thomas.
Last month, he was sitting on a bench at the Fullerton Transportation Center, a hub for buses and commuter trains where homeless people congregate, when six police officers arrived to investigate reports of a man burglarizing cars nearby. Police said he ran when they tried to search his backpack and that he resisted arrest.
The incident was captured by a bystander with a cell phone, and bus surveillance tape released Monday showed agitated witnesses describing how officers beat Thomas and used a stun gun on him repeatedly as he cried out for his father.
On the cell phone video, a man can be heard screaming over a fast, clicking sound that those on the tape identify as a stun gun being deployed.
Thomas was taken off life support five days after the July 5 altercation. His father said Wednesday he was stunned when he learned police officers caused his son's severe head and neck injuries.
"When I arrived at the hospital to see him, I honestly thought that gang bangers had got a hold of him like the cowards sometimes do and just beat him with a baseball bat in the face," he said. "Immediately my thoughts were to get with Fullerton police ... and I didn't learn until a certain amount of hours later the truth. That put me in absolute shock."
A police spokesman, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, said the case was an isolated incident.
"We have a good department full of good individuals," he said. "We've made more than half-a-million law enforcement contacts over the past 4.5 years ... This is the only instance of this kind that's happened."
Goodrich said officers receive training on how to deal with the mentally ill and the homeless. But an attorney representing the department, Michael D. Schwartz, said that "public perception of officers' trying to control a combative, resistive suspect rarely conform to those officers' training, experiences, and what those officers were experiencing at the time or reality."
The revelations have caused growing outrage in this quiet college town. More than 70 people spoke at the City Council meeting Wednesday, and a city councilwoman called for the resignation of the police chief. Thomas' father and others were planning a protest outside the police station this weekend, the second in as many weeks.
"My son needs a voice," he said. "Now, the people have become Kelly's voice and, yeah, I'm leading the charge."
Kelly Thomas was an outgoing child who loved to play the guitar, participated in Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts and aspired to be a wildland firefighter, said his father, who raised him alone after he and Thomas' mother divorced.
After his diagnosis, he went to a live-in facility that provided meals and monitored his medication, his father said. Thomas was able to hold down a job at a gas station and then a printing facility and even started to train with the California Department of Forestry and Protection.
But each time he began to improve, he stopped his medications and wound up back on the streets, moving between Yorba Linda, Placentia, Fullerton and Cypress — all places where he had once lived or had family and friends. One of the hardest parts of his death has been hearing their son described as homeless, the father said.
"That's the heartbreaking part for all of us. We all have ideas of what we'd like our kids to be like and to do in life. With Kelly, we didn't get to realize that and it constantly broke our heart," his father said. "Kelly wasn't homeless at all, he had so many homes, but he wanted to be a drifter and he did."
Life on the streets led to criminal charges.
He pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm in 1995 and since 2004 has had a string of arrests for a host of lesser crimes including public urination, trespassing, battery, unlawful camping, petty theft and vandalism. He racked up traffic violations for jaywalking and failing to obey traffic signals.
His mother sought a restraining order against him in December 2010 after he refused to leave her front porch, took off his clothes and urinated by the front door, according to court papers. In the same court papers, his mother alleged that Thomas grabbed her by the throat when they shared an apartment, although it was unclear when the incident occurred.
The family said they sought the order to try to get him into treatment as his behavior spiraled out of control.
On the day of the beating, bystanders said Thomas was approached by two officers and ran from them. Bus surveillance video showed witnesses talking about the confrontation to the driver of a bus that pulled up minutes later.
In the grainy, black-and-white video, a woman who appears upset says: "The cops are kicking this poor guy over there. ... He's almost halfway dead."
A male witness says the man, identified as Thomas, was sitting on a bench when he was approached by two officers and ran from them. The man says police used a stun gun on Thomas six times.
"They caught him, pound his face, pound his face against the curb ... and they beat him up," the man said. "They beat him up, and then all the cops came and they hogtied him, and he was like, 'Please God! Please Dad!'"
The police department has turned over the investigation to the district attorney's office and placed on paid administrative leave six officers involved in the beating. The FBI also launched a probe into whether the officers violated Thomas' civil rights in the incident.
People with untreated mental illness make up about one-third of the nation's 600,000 homeless, said Kristina Ragosta, legislative and policy counsel for the Treatment Advocacy Center.
More needs to be done by police departments to train officers in how to recognize symptoms and deal with people with mental illness, said Elaine Deck, the senior program manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Sometimes, an untrained officer can make a situation worse, she said.
"Handcuffing them may escalate the behavior where the officer may think they are trying to calm the person," Deck said. "They may not know that this may actually escalate a response."
Salt water could be running down some slopes of Mars every spring, researchers suggest.
This NASA image obtained in March 2011 and taken from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows portions of the Martian surface. Scientists have spotted dark stripes on some slopes on Mars in the warmer months, and they believe it may be evidence of flowing salt water, NASA researchers said on Thursday
News : Giant statue sighting in Hamburg
A "mermaid" sculpture rises in Germany's Alster lake.
A man in a canoe paddles around a sculpture of a mermaid at the 'Alster' lake in Hamburg August 3, 2011. The four-meter-high sculpture made by Oliver Voss will be in place until August 12. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen
Android : Car Locator Android
Android : Car Locator Android
Description
Never again lose your car or anything else with Car Locator!
As seen on the Verizon commercial, Techcrunch, Wired Magazine and more. 1st place winner in Verizon's Power Your App Contest!
Save your location when you park and Car Locator will help you find your car
-Radar/Map/Split-Screen view
-Parking timer
-Beam your current or saved location to another phone/email
-Home screen widget for quick save
-Shake to save
-Double tap on map to save
-Save notes and photos
-Location history
-Location favorites
-Manual coordinate entry
-View current and car coordinates (great for geocaching)
-Driving directions
-Sonar sound
-Customizable background images
-Radar visualizations
-Live wallpaper always points to your car
-Customizable radar visualization
-Automatically save location on bluetooth disconnect or car undock
Tags : Find car, Car Locator, Car Finder, Locator Finder
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News : Japan: NKorea seeks new missile, China navy active
News : Japan: NKorea seeks new missile, China navy active
North Korea is developing a new mid-range ballistic missile that could reach as far as the U.S. territory of Guam, Japan's Defense Ministry said in an annual report released Tuesday.
Japan is also concerned with China's increasing naval activity in the waters surrounding its shores and is taking measures to bolster its coastal defenses, the report said.
The North Korean missile called the Musudan is based on Russian technology acquired in the 1990s and is designed for launch from mobile platforms, the ministry said in its 2011 white paper. Tuesday's report was the first time Japan has officially mentioned the missile by name.
According to the report, the missile would have an estimated range of 1,500-2,500 miles (2,500-4,000 kilometers). Guam is about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from North Korea.
That is less than the multi-stage Taepodong-2 missile, which is believed capable of reaching the U.S. west coast. But it would put the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan and thousands more on the island of Guam within its potential reach, the report said.
"Because of the secretive nature of the North Korean regime, it is extremely difficult to confirm its military intentions," the report said, adding that the North's mobile and underground missile facilities are believed to be intended to make early detection more difficult.
The report did not say when Japan expected the missile to be operational, or whether it already is.
Experts have long speculated that North Korea was working on a new intermediate-range missile. A missile believed to be a Musudan was displayed in a North Korean military parade last October.
Regarding China, Tokyo continues to be concerned by exercises held in the Pacific and in waters surrounding Japan, a concern it said has been heightened by what it called China's long-standing failure to provide data that would reassure the world of the peaceful intentions of its rapid military modernization.
Japan, the report said, is especially worried by the Chinese navy.
"China plans to expand its sphere of maritime activities, carrying out operations and training as an ordinary routine practice in waters surrounding Japan, including the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, as well as the South China Sea," it said.
Though it did not specifically link them to China, the report said Japan is boosting its submarine fleet while strengthening its troops and radar capabilities along its southwestern shores, which are closest to Taiwan and the sea lanes the Chinese navy has been more frequently using.
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News : s will seek oil in South China Sea
The Philippines plans to auction off areas of the South China Sea for oil exploration, despite worsening territorial disputes with China over the area, an official said Tuesday.
Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug said several foreign firms, including China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd., had already expressed interest in drilling in waters off the western Philippine island of Palawan.
The areas set for exploration are far from the disputed Spratly islands and well within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, he said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Manila.
"These are not disputed areas. The area we are offering for bidding is definitely within the territory of the Republic of the Philippines."
However, China is known to claim most of the South China Sea, including areas the Philippines says are clearly Filipino territory.
Aside from CNOOC, two other Chinese firms are among those interested in contracts to drill in the area, Layug said without naming the other two.
The Philippines is to name the winning bidders next year, Layug said.
He expressed confidence the Chinese would not try to harass Philippine-sanctioned oil exploration vessels there.
"These areas are near Palawan which means they (winning bidders) will have to come to the Philippines to do it," he said.
Tensions have risen in recent months, with countries in the region claiming China has been more aggressive in enforcing its claims on parts of the South China Sea.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims to all or parts of the sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.
Last February, two Chinese vessels allegedly harassed a Filipino-commissioned exploration vessel off Reed Bank, an islet north of the Spratlys.
The Philippines has also accused Chinese forces of shooting at Filipino fishermen and placing markers on some of the islets.
The Reed Bank, which Manila calls "Recto Bank" and is also claimed by China, is 273 kilometres (170 miles) from Palawan.
Philippine officials said Manila had authorised drilling in that area before without any Chinese opposition.
News : Iraq sentences 3 to death in Baghdad church attack
An Iraqi court sentenced three men to death Tuesday for masterminding a church siege last year that killed 68 people in one of the most horrific attacks on the nation's Christian minority.
Supreme Judicial Council spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said the three men were found guilty of planning and preparing the Oct. 31 attack, when al-Qaida suicide bombers held worshippers hostage at Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation cathedral for hours before detonating explosives belts. The attack horrified Iraqis and Christians across the world.
Bayrkdar said the three men have a month to appeal. He said a fourth man linked to the attack was sentenced earlier to 20 years in prison. The names of the men were not released.
Baghdad's Christian community welcomed the verdict.
"Anyone who kills the innocent — Muslims or Christians — should be punished as a lesson to other bad people," said the Rev. Aysar Kesko, a priest at Our Lady of Salvation. "We hope to have justice in the country, and for Iraqi people live in peace and trust the government."
The brutal attack was the peak of a wave of violence against Iraqi Christians, and spurred the Vatican and U.S. lawmakers to demand better protections for the nation's dwindling Christian population. A State Department report says Christian leaders estimate that 400,000 to 600,000 Christians remain in Iraq, down from a prewar level of as high as 1.4 million, by some estimates.
Despite the exodus, the small community remains a target for insurgents, and on Tuesday a car bomb blew up outside of a church in the northern city of Kirkuk, wounding 23 people.
City police chief Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir said police discovered two more car bombs parked outside two other Kirkuk churches.
"The terrorists want to make us flee Iraq, but they will fail," said the Rev. Haithem Akram, a priest at one of the churches. "We are staying in our country. The Iraqi Christians are easy targets because they do not have militias to protect them. The terrorists want to terrorize us, but they will fail."
The car outside the Syrian Catholic church blew up early Tuesday morning, severely damaging the church and nearby houses, said police Col. Taha Salaheddin.
The parish's leader, the Rev. Imad Yalda, was the only person inside at the time of the blast and was wounded. The 22 other wounded were people whose nearby homes were damaged by the blast, Tahir said.
The ethnically and religiously mixed city of Kirkuk is located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Sunni extremists often target Christians who are seen as unbelievers.
News : 20-million-year-old ape skull unearthed in Uganda
A team of Ugandan and French paleontologists announced Tuesday they had found a 20-million-year-old ape skull in northeastern Uganda, saying it could shed light on the region's evolutionary history.
"This is the first time that the complete skull of an ape of this age has been found ... it is a highly important fossil and it will certainly put Uganda on the map in terms of the scientific world," Martin Pickford, a paleontologist from the College de France in Paris, told journalists in Kampala.
The fossilised skull belonged to a male Ugandapithecus Major, a remote cousin of today's great apes which roamed the region around 20 million years ago.
The team discovered the remains on July 18 while looking for fossils in the remnants of an extinct volcano in Uganda's remote northeastern Karamoja region.
Preliminary studies of the fossil showed that the tree-climbing herbivore, roughly 10 years old when it died, had a head the size of a chimpanzee?s but a brain the size of a baboon?s, Pickford said.
Brigitte Senut, a professor at the Musee National d?Histoire Naturelle, said that the remains would be taken to Paris to be x-rayed and documented before being returned to Uganda.
"It will be cleaned in France, it will be prepared in France... and then in about one year's time it will be returned to the country," Senut said.
Paleontologists from France have been visiting Uganda on expeditions funded by the French government for the past 25 years, Senut said.
The least developed region in Uganda, the arid plains of Karamoja have in recent years been largely pacified following decades of insecurity linked to armed cattle raiding between nomad communities
Animal : Two bear cubs born in Pyrenees
Animal : Two bear cubs born in Pyrenees
Two bear cubs were born in France's Pyrenees region this winter, the national wildlife office announced Monday, after hikers spotted and photographed the animals.
The group hiking in the Couserans area of the Pyrenees on July 28 saw at least three animals playing in the snow for over an hour.
Wildlife officials will now wait for the results of tests done on droppings and hair samples taken from the area to determine the sex of the cubs and to identity their mother.
At the end of 2010, the bear population in the Courson stood at 19.
Four cubs were born in the region in early 2010.
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Tourism : End Times? Texas Lake Turns Blood-Red
A Texas lake that turned blood-red this summer may not be a sign of the End Times, but probably is the end of a popular fishing and recreation spot.
A drought has left the OC Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo State Park in West Texas almost entirely dry. The water that is left is stagnant, full of dead fish — and a deep, opaque red.
The color has some apocalypse believers suggesting that OC Fisher is an early sign of the end of the world, but Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries officials say the bloody look is the result of Chromatiaceae bacteria, which thrive in oxygen-deprived water.
"It's just heartbreaking," said Charles Cruz, a fish and wildlife technician with Texas Parks and Wildlife in San Angelo, Tex.
Blood red reservoir
Texas is experiencing major drought this summer, with 75 percent of the state's area in an "exceptional" drought, the highest level, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC). The state had hoped for some relief from Tropical Storm Don last week, but the system fizzled and brought only an inch or two of rain to areas near the coast.
The drought has taken its toll on a number of reservoirs in West Texas, Cruz told LiveScience. OC Fisher has never been completely full, Cruz said, but it was stocked with catfish, bass, sunfish and other popular targets for fishermen.
"We surveyed the lake, I believe it was last year, and we had a pretty good fish population out there," Cruz said. "It was pretty sickening going out there, watching lake levels just drop and drop and drop and seeing these nice trophy-sized bass just floating dead."
End times predictions
As of last week, all that remained of the lake was a small pond a few feet deep, Cruz said. There were thousands of dead fish, he said, but no sign of life.
Pictures of this blood-red pool circulated online in fishing forums and caught the notice of Indiana preacher Paul Begley, who said in a YouTube video that the lake might be evidence of the apocalypse as predicted by the Biblical book of Revelation. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears]
"The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died," the passage Begley cited reads. "The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood."
Begley may not have any more luck at predicting the end of the world than did Harold Camping, the radio preacher who set the date for May 21, 2011. But for as long as the drought persists, the OC Fisher reservoir is a reservoir no longer.
"I don't know what's left in there now. We haven't been back," Cruz said. "But I would guess it's probably pretty much gone already."
Food: Special to the Green Banana Ice Breaking
To restore the energy after fasting, eating a sweet snack is recommended. Ice green bananas can be a choice releasing the thirst after a day of fasting. No need to buy, because the snacks are easily made and easily available ingredients. You want to try at home?
Banana Ice Green Special
Dadar Material:
200 g flour
25 g rice flour
25 g cornflour
300 ml coconut milk from a coconut
½ tsp fine salt
Suji leaf water:
100 ml of water
10 leaves suji
3 pieces pandan leaves
Filling:
6 pieces of plantain, peeled
Porridge Ingredients:
100 g rice flour
1 lt milk from a coconut
1 pandan leaf, chopped
½ tsp fine salt
Complement:
200 ml syrup or syrup flavors coco pandan frambozen
200 g gelatin fresh boiled with coconut milk and red dye, diced
250 g of ice shavings
How to Make:
1. Dadar: Mash leaves and pandan leaves suji with 100 ml of water, wring the water set aside.
2. Combine all omelet ingredients, mix well. Strain. Heat a flat non-stick pan, pour one ladle batter. Cook until cooked through and into thin pancakes. Repeat until dough runs out.
3. Take one sheet of dough pancakes, fill with 1 banana. Roll up and wrap up the dough covered with banana pancakes. Wrap with banana leaf. Steam for 20 minutes or until cooked bananas. Remove, cut into pieces. Set aside.
4. Porridge: Mix all ingredients porridge, stir well. Cook, stirring constantly, stirring until the porridge cooked and thickened texture. Lift. Set aside.
5. Solution: Prepare a serving bowl, put pulp, pieces of green bananas, pieces of gelatin and shaved ice.
6. Just before serving pour over it with coco pandan syrup or syrup frambozen. Serve immediately.