'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.': Meet Agent Grant Ward From ABC And Marvel's New Superhero Series (VIDEO)

Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine: Eliza Dushku

Backstabbing and butt-kicking are two of the reasons Eliza Dushku has become a Whedonverse actress close to our hearts. She can pull both off with sexy finesse, which is needed to play S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and sometimes Nick Fury love interest <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Valentina_Allegra_de_Fontaine_%28Earth-616%29" target="_hplink">Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine.</a>

Jessica Jones: Amy Acker

ABC was developing a series based on Brian Michael Bendis' "Alias" comics with <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Jessica_Jones_%28Earth-616%29" target="_hplink">Jessica Jones</a>, a onetime superhero who gives up the spandex and becomes a private eye. The series has been scrapped, but there's no reason Ms. Jones can't find her way into the "Avengers" world, either as a private eye, or S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Either way, Jessica Jones is a fascinating -- and tortured -- character who is ripe for TV.

Dum-Dum Dugan: Neal McDonough

In the comics, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Timothy_Dugan_%28Earth-616%29" target="_hplink">Dum-Dum Dugan</a> is one of Nick Fury's right-hand men. After originally appearing in "Captain America: The First Avenger," Neal McDonough could reprise the role for Joss Whedon's "S.H.I.E.L.D." series thanks to the use of comic book magic. Example: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s usage of life model decoys, or LMD.

Norman Osborn: Alan Tudyk

No self-respecting comic-book story can function without a bad guy, and Osborn/the Green Goblin certainly qualifies. No character did more to damage S.H.I.E.L.D., which means he could be the basis for a season-long arc (or three), and Tudyk proved in "Dollhouse" that he can play scary, damaged characters very well. Obviously he's got a commitment to ABC's "Suburgatory," but if he's underused again in the upcoming season, we say set him free!

Jimmy Woo: Ken Watanabe

This Asian-American secret agent would work well within the context of a weekly spy-adventure series, and ever since Watanabe reminded us in "Inception" of what a charismatic actor he is, we've wanted to see a lot more of him on our screens. Delving into the "life model decoy" stories that Woo was involved in would also allow Whedon and the writers to explore the kind of identity issues seen in the short-lived Fox drama "Dollhouse."

Daisy Johnson: Amber Benson

Johnson, who in the comics is Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., has the ability to cause seismic activity and once defeated Magneto that way. It's been too long since Benson had a prominent role on television, and the role of Daisy would draw on her strength, range and general ability to kick ass.

Jessica Drew: Summer Glau

Glau, who debuted as a dancer in the "Buffy" spinoff "Angel" before blowing our minds on "Firefly," has the right kind of physicality and grace for the role of Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman. After a series of adventures fighting a wide array of bad guys, Drew eventually became a private investigator, meaning she (possibly in combination with a similar character, Jessica Jones) could potentially anchor a weekly drama with procedural overtones.

Carol Danvers: Evan Rachel Wood

Wood proved her dramatic chops at a young age thanks to her breakthrough role in "Thirteen," and after showcasing her kick-ass side in "True Blood," we think there are few young actresses that could pull off Carol Danvers' combination of poise and empowerment as well as she could. In the comics, Major Carol Danvers (AKA Ms. Marvel) has served as executive director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Nick Fury was deposed, and is a superheroine in her own right after an explosion caused her genetic structure to meld with Captain Marvel's, imbuing her with superhuman strength and flight. Since we're betting ABC doesn't have the budget for a super-powered superhero show, we see Danvers as a respected agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. with aspirations towards leadership.

Sharon Carter: Tricia Helfer

As an integral part of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the occasional girlfriend of Captain America, Carter would be a key part of any TV spinoff, and Helfer proved on "Battlestar Galactica" and in countless guest roles that she has the presence, acting chops and physical ability to play the part of an active field agent with a complicated past. It'd be nice if Hayley Atwell, who played Sharon's aunt Peggy in the "Captain America" movie, wanted to play her own niece in the American drama, but that seems unlikely. Either actress would be a fine addition to the new show, but we'll admit that even the hint of a "BSG"/"Avengers" crossover makes us all tingly.

Marcus Johnson: Michael B. Jordan

Time will tell whether Whedon can lure Samuel L. Jackson back to TV on a regular or recurring basis to reprise the role of Nick Fury, or whether the S.H.I.E.L.D. series will take part in a specific subdivision that can explain the executive director's absence. Either way, we'd like to have our Fury cake and eat it, so rather than recasting, we propose including Marcus Johnson, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Nicholas_Fury,_Jr._(Earth-616)" target="_hplink">Nick Fury's son</a>. Michael B. Jordan stole our hearts in "Friday Night Lights" as a teen who had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with his absentee father, so drafting Johnson in as a new S.H.I.E.L.D. recruit facing accusations of nepotism could be a good way to keep things in the family but stay within ABC's budget.

Clay Quartermain: Teddy Sears

Since Jensen Ackles and Warren Kole are occupied on other shows, we think "American Horror Story" and "Raising the Bar" star Sears is a good alternative for S.H.I.E.L.D agent Clay Quartermain, who is described as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Quartermain" target="_hplink">"blond-haired, fast-talking, grinning Burt Lancaster"</a> sort of chap, as well as a former love interest of Jessica Jones. Sears also has Whedonverse credentials, having guest-starred in an episode of "Dollhouse."

Alexander Pierce: Enver Gjokaj

Eagle-eyed "Avengers" fans know that Gjokaj already has a role in the Marvel-verse, thanks to his blink and you'll miss it cameo as a cop in Whedon's movie. Still, Whedon has never been averse to recycling his favorite actors between projects, so we'd love to see the "Dollhouse" alum in "S.H.I.E.L.D." in some capacity. We were torn between this role and the more antagonistic character of <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Mitchell_Tanner_(Earth-616)" target="_hplink">Warhawk</a>, but figured that <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Alexander_Pierce_%28Earth-616%29" target="_hplink">Alexander Pierce's</a> position as Nick Fury's bodyguard and sleeper agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. was a good fit. Pierce has no superhuman powers in the comics, but is described as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and marksman, something that we know Gjokaj could sell.

Tony Masters: James Marsters

Maybe it's the similarity in their names, but the villain-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (or is it the other way round?) known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taskmaster" target="_hplink">Taskmaster</a> would be a perfect role for the man who masterfully charted the evolution of Spike throughout "Buffy" and "Angel." Marsters also has experience playing a comic book villain thanks to his stint as Brainiac on "Smallville," and certainly has the charisma and menace to portray an antihero who could later be welcomed back into the agency.

Agent Coulson: Clark Gregg

Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson has been an integral part of the Marvel cinematic universe since his introduction in "Iron Man," and is so beloved by fans that he was retroactively brought into the comics. We still don't know if "S.H.I.E.L.D." will be a prequel or sequel to the events of the "Avengers" movie, but whether Coulson is revealed to be alive, a LMD, or Whedon suddenly introduces Phil's long-lost twin brother Bill, we need to see Clark Gregg in "S.H.I.E.L.D." in some capacity if the show goes to series.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/shield-grant-ward-video_n_3570435.html

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Expert bolsters Zimmerman account of Trayvon Martin shooting

By Barbara Liston

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman's account of his fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin is consistent with the forensic evidence in the highly publicized case, an expert on gunshot wounds said on Tuesday.

Dr. Vincent DiMaio, a forensic pathologist testifying for the defense at Zimmerman's murder trial, said the trajectory of the bullet that pierced Martin's chest and gun powder on his body supported Zimmerman's claim that Martin was on top of him when he fired him 9mm semiautomatic.

"It's consistent with somebody leaning over the person doing the shooting," said DiMaio, a former chief medical examiner in Texas.

He also testified that Martin could have been conscious and able to move for five to 10 seconds after he was shot through the heart, based on the typical reserve oxygen in the brain.

The testimony appeared to bolster Zimmerman's claim that he placed Martin's arms out to the side after shooting him, despite a photograph taken of Martin after he died that showed his arms under his body.

It was a new blow to the prosecution after Circuit Judge Debra Nelson ruled late on Monday that defense lawyers can introduce evidence that Martin had the active ingredient of marijuana in his system when he was killed.

Nelson was expected to rule later on Tuesday on whether jurors should see a digital reconstruction of Zimmerman's shooting of Martin, in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. The shooting sparked a national debate on race, profiling, gun rights and self defense.

DiMaio testified that Zimmerman, 29, had at least six injuries after his clash with Martin - including two on the back of his head that appeared to indicate impacts with concrete - one on each temple, one on his forehead and one on his nose.

Valerie Rao, a medical examiner testifying for the prosecution last week, said Zimmerman suffered "insignificant" injuries in the incident, as the state attempted to undermine Zimmerman's claim he feared for his life.

"They were not life-threatening. They were very insignificant," Rao said.

DiMaio said the injuries could be worse than they appeared.

Two lacerations to the back of Zimmerman's head suggested the use of "severe force," he said, lending credence to his claim that Martin slammed Zimmerman's head into a concrete walkway after knocking him to the ground with a punch that broke his nose.

"You're going to be at a minimum stunned. And it can be much worse than that," DiMaio said. "You can get severe trauma to the head without external injury."

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder and faces up to life in prison if convicted, although either side can request that the jury also consider the lesser offense of manslaughter, with a maximum penalty of 30 years.

PEACEFUL PROTESTS

The case revolves around sometimes murky evidence, including disagreements among witnesses over whose voice - Martin's or Zimmerman's - can be heard in the background of a 911 emergency call on the night Zimmerman shot Martin.

Zimmerman remained free for 45 days after the killing, because police initially declined to arrest him, accepting his claim he shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin in self-defense.

A special prosecutor brought the charge of second-degree murder against Zimmerman after protests and cries of injustice in Sanford and several major U.S. cities.

Prosecutors wrapped up their case against Zimmerman on Friday after nine days of witness testimony. Lead defense attorney Mark O'Mara said he hopes to rest by Thursday, meaning the case could go to the jury by this weekend.

Once a verdict is rendered, it seems likely that many Americans will be disappointed however Zimmerman's fate is decided, because they have already made up their minds about the killing, an event became a virtual national obsession last year.

Highlighting fears of racial tensions in Sanford, the Broward County Sheriff's Office in south Florida, the state's largest, said on Monday it was working closely with the Sanford Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies to coordinate "a response plan in anticipation of the verdict."

Sanford's population of 54,000 is about 30 percent black.

"Freedom of expression is a constitutional right. While raising your voice is encouraged, using your hands is not," the Broward Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

"We don't have information about a specific event that might take place at the conclusion of the trial, but we encourage everyone to keep any protests peaceful," Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said.

(In paragraph two, adds back pathologist's name, which got deleted in an editing error)

(Writing by Tom Brown; Editing by Dina Kyriakidou)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ruling-trayvon-martin-shooting-reconstruction-deferred-163808658.html

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Mexico opposition wins key state vote, boosting reform outlook

By Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda looked to be on surer footing after local elections on Sunday yielded results that favor a cross-party pact he forged to push reforms through Congress.

In the most closely watched race, the conservative National Action Party (PAN) won a tight contest for governor in its stronghold of Baja California, an outcome that should help defuse tensions between the opposition and Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

Baja California was the only governor's office up for grabs as nearly half of Mexico's 31 states voted for a mix of local parliaments and city halls, producing results that allowed both the PRI and the PAN to claim success at the ballot box.

In Baja California, the PAN had accused the PRI of trying to steal the election, so a change of power could have destabilized the "Pact for Mexico" the president made with the opposition to help strengthen his hand in Congress, where he lacks a majority.

But a preliminary vote count on Monday showed the PAN won the race, about 3 percentage points ahead of the centrist PRI.

The PAN's triumph is probably more useful to Pena Nieto than a win for his own party would have been because it should foster consensus-building on the key planks of his legislative program: opening up state oil monopoly Pemex to more private investment and a reform to bolster tax revenues.

News of the PAN victory helped push up the peso more than 1 percent against the dollar in early trading.

PRI chairman Cesar Camacho hinted that his party might challenge the vote count in Baja California. But Pena Nieto later urged all sides to accept the results, underlining the need to keep things friendly in Congress.

"I reiterate that the government is ready to continue the dialogue and deal-making with the political forces to agree the reforms need to consolidate our democracy and speed up Mexico's development and progress," Pena Nieto said in Mexico City.

The electoral process had deteriorated into mud-slinging and mutual recriminations between the PRI and PAN by the time Mexicans cast their votes on Sunday, with each side accusing the other of resorting to dirty tricks to gain advantage.

Violence also blighted the campaign, with several activists from the main parties murdered in a reminder of the government's struggle to curb blood-letting by drug gangs that has claimed more than 70,000 lives since the start of 2007.

PAN BLUES

Outside of Baja California, the PRI did not go empty-handed, notching up some notable victories in mayoral elections.

Jorge Buendia, head of polling firm Buendia & Laredo, said that the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Mexico's main leftist group and co-signatory of the pact, had fared less well.

However, the PRD, which ran on a joint platform with the PAN in several electoral battlegrounds, including Baja California, said that it too had made important advances in some states.

With 97 percent of the polling booths reporting in Baja California, the PAN gubernatorial ticket had won 47.2 percent of the vote against 44.2 percent for the PRI candidate, preliminary results from the local electoral authority showed.

Since it lost the Mexican presidency last year, the PAN has been bogged down in infighting that has rattled the stability of the political accord Pena Nieto unveiled in December.

PAN chairman Gustavo Madero, whose leadership has been under attack, said the party would still have to evaluate its commitment to the Pact for Mexico after an election campaign he said was marred by attempts by the PRI to steal and buy votes.

But he said the results had vindicated the PAN.

"We are still convinced that Mexico needs reforms," Madero told Mexican radio, referring to the energy and tax plans.

Those ambitious reforms are due to be presented to Congress by early September. Pena Nieto is likely to face strong opposition from the left, especially to the Pemex shake-up.

Tax reform and the Pemex overhaul are vital to Pena Nieto's hopes to raise economic growth to 6 percent a year from an average of barely 2 percent since the millennium began.

Pollster Buendia said setbacks for the left on Sunday were likely to push the PRI closer to the PAN's position on how to approach Pemex reform, implying a stronger push to open up the state oil giant to foreign capital.

The PRD lost control of the local government in the tourist resort of Cancun, where the PRI candidate won by a clear margin.

Buendia said that with no major round of elections due in Mexico until 2015, the pendulum was swinging towards a more business-friendly political platform for economic reform.

"For a couple of years what we're going to see is that there will be fewer approaches between the PAN and the PRD and more between the PRI and the PAN," he said.

(Additional reporting by Luc Cohen and Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Kieran Murray, Xavier Briand and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-opposition-wins-key-state-vote-boosting-reform-170647099.html

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Cassidy: NSA muzzle should be removed from Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo

The NSA spying scandal and the way it runs through Silicon Valley "is the story that just won't go away," to borrow a phrase from Fox News.

Details -- some accurate, some not -- of the government's snooping continue to trickle out. Many of us continue to wonder just what the government has scooped up about us from our go-to social networking and search companies like Google (GOOG), Facebook, Yahoo (YHOO) and Apple (AAPL). And some of us wonder just what those companies have done to try to protect our privacy

It's the last question that has become my personal obsession. The feds and the commercial keepers of the Internet have said all the right things to make us feel better. When several news outlets were reporting that the NSA through a program called Prism was tapping directly into the servers of search engines and social media sites, executives said that was not the case. The NSA explained

that it was only targeting foreign suspects and only with the authorization of a top-secret court.

But does any of that put you at ease? Me neither.

There is something that could help us all feel better about the oceans of personal data that are sloshing around out there: National security officials should free companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Yahoo to explain what is going on in much greater detail. After all, we are their customers. We put our trust in them. They have benefited greatly from using our data to target ads and develop marketing schemes. They know more about us than we know about ourselves.

All this was on my mind recently when I attended a New York Times global forum. This one, hosted by columnist Thomas Friedman, centered on the notion that we'd moved from being a connected society to a hyper-connected one and that the transformation has changed everything from business to security to philanthropy to education to relationships.

The spin was generally positive, but obviously this increased connectivity has some serious down sides.

Among the many speakers was Dov Seidman, CEO of corporate advisory firm LRN and a guy who's become a guru of good corporate behavior. He seemed a

An illustration picture shows the logo of the U.S. National Security Agency on the display of an iPhone in Berlin, June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski (PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI)

logical one to ask about the role of valley companies in the NSA drama.

"At the end of the day," Seidman, whose outfit works with Fortune 500 companies globally, told me, "the Silicon Valley companies that are capturing a lot of data are in a very precarious and a very rich relationship with their (customers). Their currency is trust and if they do anything to betray that trust, it's going to be hard to regain it."

No kidding. The problem is that it's going to be hard for Silicon Valley companies to maintain or regain that trust if the federal government continues to muzzle them.

Part of Seidman's gospel is that the world has become a place where what companies do is important, but more important is how they do things. The explosion of social media and the ability to immediately and broadly call out bad corporate behavior, means that companies that act unethically or otherwise mistreat customers, partners, suppliers and others will have a hard time getting away with it.

Few things matter more to people than their personal information, said Seidman, author of "How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything." "So these are the crown jewels that these companies are possessing," he said. "They've got to handle them with great care."

How have they done? Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft and others have pushed back, asking the feds to let them disclose more details about government demands for information and corporate responses to those demands. But the feds have provided little useful relief.

No question it would be good to get a good accounting. I'd also be interested in knowing what search and social media companies did when the NSA first came calling. The week the NSA news broke, I wrote a blog post wondering whether Silicon Valley companies stood up for our privacy. Did they go to court to fight the orders to turn over data? Did they use their considerable connections in Congress? It would be fair to say the post was critical and assumed the worst.

But now comes news that at least one company in 2008 fought a request made under the law that governs the Prism program. The legal battle was fought secretly and to this day the court hasn't disclosed the name of the company, although The New York Times reported that it was Yahoo.

That is exactly the sort of information that the feds should allow companies to disclose. There is no need to keep the targeted company secret five years later. If they ever doubted it, terrorists now know that investigators monitor U.S. Internet companies; and they know Yahoo is a U.S. Internet company. That Yahoo fought a surveillance order would tell those who mean us harm nothing they don't already know.

But it would tell consumers a lot. For instance, if Yahoo fought the feds prying through Prism and Google didn't (something we can't know for sure) a reasonable consumer might want to shift from Google to Yahoo for search, or from Gmail to Yahoo Mail for correspondence.

At the very least, a reasonable consumer would want to know the track record of the two companies in order to make an informed decision.

Contact Mike Cassidy at mcassidy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5536. Follow him at Twitter.com/mikecassidy.

Source: http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_23553774/cassidy-nsa-muzzle-should-be-removed-from-google?source=rss_viewed

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Egyptians stream into streets to demand Mursi quit

By Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians poured onto the streets on Sunday, swelling crowds that opposition leaders hope will number into the millions by evening and persuade Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to resign.

Waving national flags, a crowd of some 200,000 had gathered by late afternoon on Cairo's Tahrir Square, seat of the 2011 uprising against Mursi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

"The people want the fall of the regime!" they chanted - this time not against an ageing dictator but against their first ever elected leader, who took office only a year ago to the day.

As the working day ended and the heat of the sun eased, more joined them on the otherwise deserted streets of the capital. Many are angry at Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, saying it has hijacked the revolution through a series of electoral victories to monopolize power and push through Islamic law.

Others are simply frustrated by the economic crisis, deepened by political deadlock, over which Mursi has presided.

In other cities, thousands of protesters also gathered. Over 100,000 were out in the centre of second city Alexandria.

Security sources said three Brotherhood offices were set on fire by demonstrators in towns in the Nile Delta - the latest in over a week of street violence in which hundreds have been hurt and several killed, including an American student.

Over 20,000 Mursi supporters also congregated in the capital, by a mosque not far from the suburban presidential palace. Mursi himself is working elsewhere. But liberal protest organizers plan a sit-in outside the palace from Sunday evening.

Thousands of anti-Mursi protesters were walking to the site.

Interviewed by a British newspaper, Mursi repeated his determination to ride out what he sees as an undemocratic attack on his electoral legitimacy. But he also offered to revise the new, Islamist-inspired constitution, saying clauses on religious authority, which fueled liberal resentment, were not his choice.

He made a similar offer last week, after the head of the army issued a strong call for politicians to compromise. But the opposition dismissed it was too little too late. They hope Mursi will resign in the face of large numbers on the streets.

Some also seem to believe the army might force the president's hand. In Cairo, demonstrators stopped to shake hands and take photographs with soldiers guarding key buildings.

While many Egyptians are angry at Mursi over the economy, many others fear that more turmoil will make life worse.

Mursi and the Brotherhood can hope protests fizzle out like previous outbursts. If they do not, some form of compromise, possibly arbitrated by the army, may be on the cards.

VIOLENCE

Both sides insist they plan no violence but accuse the other - and agents provocateurs from the old regime - of planning it.

Helicopter gunships flew over Cairo. The U.S.-equipped army, though showing little sign of wanting power, warns it may step in if deadlocked politicians let violence slip out of control.

U.S. President Barack Obama called for dialogue and warned trouble in the biggest Arab nation could unsettle an already turbulent Middle East. Washington has evacuated non-essential personnel and reinforced security at its diplomatic missions.

In an interview with London's Guardian newspaper, Mursi repeated accusations against what he sees as attempts by entrenched interests from the Mubarak era to foil his attempt to govern. But he dismissed the demands that he give up and resign.

If that became the norm, he said, "well, there will be people or opponents opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later, they will ask him to step down".

Liberal leaders say nearly half the voting population - 22 million people - has signed a petition calling for new elections, although there is no obvious challenger to Mursi.

The opposition, fractious and defeated in a series of ballots last year, hope that by putting millions on the streets they can force Mursi to relent and hand over to a technocrat administration that can organize new elections.

"We all feel we're walking on a dead-end road and that the country will collapse," said Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and now liberal party leader in his homeland.

ARMY ROLE

Religious authorities have warned of "civil war". The army insists it will respect the "will of the people".

Islamists interpret that to mean army support for election results. Opponents believe that the army may heed the popular will as expressed on the streets, as it did in early 2011 when the generals decided Mubarak's time was up.

A military source said the army was using its helicopters to monitor the numbers out on the streets. Its estimate on Tahrir in mid-afternoon was 40-50,000, with a few thousands at similar protest sites in other major cities.

It put the number at the Islamists' Cairo camp at 17,000. Having staged shows of force earlier this month, the Brotherhood has not called on its supporters to go out on Sunday.

Among the Islamists in Cairo, Ahmed Hosny, 37, said: "I came here to say, 'We are with you Mursi, with the legitimate order and against the thugs'.

"This is our revolution and no one will take it from us."

At Tahrir Square, banners ranged from "The Revolution Goes On", "Out, Out Like Mubarak" to "Obama Backs Terrorism" - a reference to liberal anger at perceived U.S. support for Mursi's legitimacy and its criticism of protests as bad for the economy.

"I am here to bring down Mursi and the Brotherhood," said Ahmed Ali al-Badri, a feed merchant in a white robe. "Just look at this country. It's gone backwards for 20 years. There's no diesel, gasoline, electricity. Life is just too expensive."

The Egyptian army, half a million strong and financed by Washington since it backed a peace treaty with Israel three decades ago, says it has deployed to protect key installations.

Among these is the Suez Canal. Cities along the waterway vital to global trade are bastions of anti-government sentiment. A bomb killed a protester in Port Said on Friday. A police general was gunned down in Sinai, close to the Israeli border.

Observers note similarities with protests in Turkey this month, where an Islamist prime minister with a strong electoral mandate has been confronted in the streets by angry secularists.

For many Egyptians, though, all the turmoil that has followed the Arab Spring has just made life harder. Standing by his lonely barrow at an eerily quiet downtown Cairo street market, 23-year-old Zeeka was afraid more violence was coming.

"We're not for one side or the other," he said. "What's happening now in Egypt is shameful. There is no work, thugs are everywhere ... I won't go out to any protest.

"It's nothing to do with me. I'm the tomato guy."

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Alexander Dziadosz, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry, Paul Taylor and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Anna Willard)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-protests-set-showdown-violence-feared-003343388.html

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Songza review: The best way yet to stream music on your iPhone

Songza for iPhone is a streaming music service that takes a different approach to discovering music than traditional apps such as Pandora. Songza comes complete with your own personal concierge. Just tell Songza what you're doing or what kind of mood you're in and you'll instantly be served with playlists curated by experts based on what you've specified.

Let's not forget that Songza also has the most beautiful and easy to use interface of any streaming service we've used thus far.

Upon launching Songza you'll be asked to either create a Songza account or log in with Facebook. After that you'll be taken directly to the concierge page. Here you can choose times of day and the activities your performing and you'll be given choices of playlists based on those activities. You can also auto-generate playlists based on your mood.

If you aren't one to listen to curated playlists without specifying at least an artist or genre that you like, you can do that as well. Searching for an artist will bring up playlists that contain tracks by them. Choosing a playlist will automatically start streaming it, typically starting off with the artist you specified. Just like other popular services such as Slacker, Pandora, and Spotify, you can vote songs up or down and add playlists to your favorites for easy access later.

While Songza doesn't seem to specify how large their music library is, they do seem to have a rather large collection with tracks spanning almost every genre I could think of. I listen to a lot of electronica and I've always had issues finding streaming services that actually have good selections outside of mainstream titles. I've found that Songza actually has a very good selection for electronica that allows me to discover new music and artists that I enjoy. And sometimes that's hard to do with more obscure genres. If you find a song you like and that you want to purchase, tapping on the shopping cart icon will instantly take you to that track in iTunes for purchase.

Another neat feature I really like about Songza is that high quality audio doesn't seem to be limited to just premium subscribers. You can actually customize it in settings to your exact model of headphones as well. There are lots of brands supported and I have no trouble finding the most common ones including manufacturers such as Bose, Harman/Kardon, iHome, JBL, Beats, Sennheiser, and more. You can also create playlists on the web version that other users can listen to. Due to licensing restrictions, you won't be able to listen to them yourself which is a bit of a letdown, but it is a way to add more value to the community.

As for a premium subscription to Songza (referred to as Club Songza), it'll cost you $0.99 a week so about $4 a month. With that you'll get no ads on the iPhone app as well as the web version. When it comes to song skips, you are limited and it seems to be about 10 tracks an hour or so.

The good

• Drop dead gorgeous interface
• High quality audio not limited to only paid subscribers
• Decently priced for the quality and track selection, one weekly fee without the complicated pricing tiers to deal with
• Concierge is an intriguing and unique feature that really makes Songza stand out
• Buffer times even over cellular network are surprisingly quick, dare I say quicker than Pandora and Spotify

The bad

• No custom curating playlists for yourself
• No way to really search and just play individual songs, but playlists based on them are good enough for users that just want to find music and go

The bottom line

Songza is not only the most gorgeous music streaming app I've ever come across, it also works amazingly well. If you're looking for custom song searches and the ability to make your own playlists, Songza isn't for you and you'll be happier with a service like Spotify but be aware the price tag will be much higher for the privilege.

But if you're looking for a way to discover new music instead of simply streaming what you already know, Songza is a perfect option. The playlists are well put together and the iPhone app is a joy to use. If music discoverability is your number one desire, give Songza a try. You'll be glad you did.

• Free - Download Now

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

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Radiation from airport scanners -- how much dose we get

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
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Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@aip.org
240-535-4954
American Institute of Physics

Examining X-ray backscatter scanners at LAX airport, an independent task force determines that radiation doses are low, according to new report by AAPM

WASHINGTON D.C., June 26, 2013 -- A new report by an independent task force commissioned by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), has found that people absorb less radiation from airport X-ray backscatter scanner than they do while standing in line waiting for the scan itself.

Measurements made on two scanners in active use at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), as well as seven other scanners not in active use at the time of measurement, found that full-body scanners deliver a radiation dose equivalent to what a standard man receives every 1.8 minutes on the ground, or every 12 seconds during an airplane flight.

Put another way, an individual would have to receive more than 22,500 scans in a year to reach the standard maximum safe yearly dose determined by the American National Standards Institute and the Health Physics Society, according to AAPM Report No. 217, "Radiation Dose from Airport Scanners."

"This report represents a wholly independent review of the X-ray scatter airport scanners and is the first we know of to look at multiple scanners including those in actual airport use," said Christopher Cagnon, PhD, DABR, the chief of radiology physics at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and one of the lead authors of the new report. "We think the most important single take-away point for concerned passengers is to keep an appropriate perspective: the effective radiation dose received by a passenger during screening is comparable to what that same passenger will receive in 12 seconds during the flight itself or from two minutes of natural radiation exposure."

Sources of Radiation

Natural sources of radiation on the ground include terrestrial sources such as radon in the air, cosmic radiation from space, and even the decay of potassium in the human body. Radiation doses are greater in the air because at cruising altitude, there is less atmosphere to shield passengers and crew from cosmic radiation.

To compare naturally occurring radiation with that emitted by airport scanners, AAPM convened a volunteer task force comprised of medical physicists from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Davis who donated their time. They measured the radiation delivered by Rapiscan Secure 1000 SP backscatter X-ray scanners, a model once commonly used in American airports but which the Transportation Security Administration has largely pulled from major airports due to passenger concerns over privacy.

The task force found that for a standard man -- approximately 178.6 cm (5'10") tall and 73.2 kg (161.4 pounds) -- one full-body scan delivered approximately 11.1 nanosieverts of radiation. (The "Sievert" is a common unit of radiation dose, and one "nanosievert" is one billionth of a sievert.)

On the ground, the same man receives approximately 3.11 millisieverts of radiation per year -- more than 10,000 times as much. The task force also found that the radiation dose a passenger receives during an average 2.84-hour plane flight -- 9.4 microsieverts -- is nearly 1,000 times greater than the dose delivered by one full-body scan.

"To our knowledge, all prior studies were contracted by the government and looked at a single scanner that was either of an older model or mocked up from component parts," Cagnon said. "A significant difference in our work is we were able to look at multiple working scanners both in the factory and in an international airport."

The AAPM report found that the LAX scanners emitted doses that were even lower than reported in the government contracted studies. The report also examines dose to skin and other superficial organs. To avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, this work was performed by independent physics experts volunteering their expertise, Cagnon added.

###

ABOUT AAPM

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (http://www.aapm.org) is a scientific, educational, and professional organization with nearly 8,000 medical physicists. Headquarters are located at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD, with a staff of 24, Annual budget is 10.4M. Publications include a scientific journal (Medical Physics), an applied clinical journal (JACMP), technical reports, and symposium proceedings.

MORE INFORMATION

Access the AAPM Report: http://www.aapm.org/pubs/reports/RPT_217.pdf

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Database (Average TSA Wait Times) http://apps.cbp.gov/awt/

Environmental Protection Agency Site on Sources of Radiation in the Environment: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/perspective.html

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@aip.org
240-535-4954
American Institute of Physics

Examining X-ray backscatter scanners at LAX airport, an independent task force determines that radiation doses are low, according to new report by AAPM

WASHINGTON D.C., June 26, 2013 -- A new report by an independent task force commissioned by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), has found that people absorb less radiation from airport X-ray backscatter scanner than they do while standing in line waiting for the scan itself.

Measurements made on two scanners in active use at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), as well as seven other scanners not in active use at the time of measurement, found that full-body scanners deliver a radiation dose equivalent to what a standard man receives every 1.8 minutes on the ground, or every 12 seconds during an airplane flight.

Put another way, an individual would have to receive more than 22,500 scans in a year to reach the standard maximum safe yearly dose determined by the American National Standards Institute and the Health Physics Society, according to AAPM Report No. 217, "Radiation Dose from Airport Scanners."

"This report represents a wholly independent review of the X-ray scatter airport scanners and is the first we know of to look at multiple scanners including those in actual airport use," said Christopher Cagnon, PhD, DABR, the chief of radiology physics at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and one of the lead authors of the new report. "We think the most important single take-away point for concerned passengers is to keep an appropriate perspective: the effective radiation dose received by a passenger during screening is comparable to what that same passenger will receive in 12 seconds during the flight itself or from two minutes of natural radiation exposure."

Sources of Radiation

Natural sources of radiation on the ground include terrestrial sources such as radon in the air, cosmic radiation from space, and even the decay of potassium in the human body. Radiation doses are greater in the air because at cruising altitude, there is less atmosphere to shield passengers and crew from cosmic radiation.

To compare naturally occurring radiation with that emitted by airport scanners, AAPM convened a volunteer task force comprised of medical physicists from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Davis who donated their time. They measured the radiation delivered by Rapiscan Secure 1000 SP backscatter X-ray scanners, a model once commonly used in American airports but which the Transportation Security Administration has largely pulled from major airports due to passenger concerns over privacy.

The task force found that for a standard man -- approximately 178.6 cm (5'10") tall and 73.2 kg (161.4 pounds) -- one full-body scan delivered approximately 11.1 nanosieverts of radiation. (The "Sievert" is a common unit of radiation dose, and one "nanosievert" is one billionth of a sievert.)

On the ground, the same man receives approximately 3.11 millisieverts of radiation per year -- more than 10,000 times as much. The task force also found that the radiation dose a passenger receives during an average 2.84-hour plane flight -- 9.4 microsieverts -- is nearly 1,000 times greater than the dose delivered by one full-body scan.

"To our knowledge, all prior studies were contracted by the government and looked at a single scanner that was either of an older model or mocked up from component parts," Cagnon said. "A significant difference in our work is we were able to look at multiple working scanners both in the factory and in an international airport."

The AAPM report found that the LAX scanners emitted doses that were even lower than reported in the government contracted studies. The report also examines dose to skin and other superficial organs. To avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, this work was performed by independent physics experts volunteering their expertise, Cagnon added.

###

ABOUT AAPM

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (http://www.aapm.org) is a scientific, educational, and professional organization with nearly 8,000 medical physicists. Headquarters are located at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD, with a staff of 24, Annual budget is 10.4M. Publications include a scientific journal (Medical Physics), an applied clinical journal (JACMP), technical reports, and symposium proceedings.

MORE INFORMATION

Access the AAPM Report: http://www.aapm.org/pubs/reports/RPT_217.pdf

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Database (Average TSA Wait Times) http://apps.cbp.gov/awt/

Environmental Protection Agency Site on Sources of Radiation in the Environment: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/perspective.html

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aiop-rfa062713.php

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