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Showing posts from April 12, 2015

Galaxy S6 Vs iPhone 6 Review: Samsung Uses Apple To Beat Apple.

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Galaxy S6 (left) versus iPhone 6 (right) – image credit Gordon Kelly. Welcome to the biggest smartphone battle of 2015. Apple AAPL -0.22% will release an iPhone 6S in September, but the lion’s share of 2015 will be fought out between these two juggernauts and with it comes real symmetry. 2014 saw Apple size up to respond to the threat of Samsung’s larger Galaxies. Now 2015 sees Samsung redesign the Galaxy S6 to counter the threat of Apple’s resurgent iPhones. The result is a smartphone head-to-head which has never been closer at a time when the stakes have never been higher. Let’s get straight to it.

Ramadi could fall as ISIS militants lay siege, Iraqi official warns.

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A member of the tribal groups fights alongside Iraqi government forces during clashes with ISIS jihadists in Ramadi in March.   Story highlights A U.S. military official tells CNN the fall of Ramadi is "not imminent" Official in Ramadi says it's unclear how long government forces can hold out there He begs the Iraqi government for reinforcements and the U.S.-led coalition for airstrikes West of Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) Falih Essawi shouted on the phone as he described his situation. From his point of view, ISIS militants might be just hours away from taking the key Iraqi city of Ramadi. Fierce fighting has engulfed Ramadi, which lies only about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Baghdad and is the capital of Anbar province, Iraq's Sunni heartland.

Where Does Hillary Clinton Stand on China and Russia?

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It's unclear how she would manage two of America's most important and complex relationships. Hillary Clinton in Hong Kong (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) In a recent Bloomberg View column on the policy positions Hillary Clinton will likely take in the 2016 presidential campaign, the veteran political chronicler Al Hunt included a head-scratcher of a passage on international affairs: On foreign policy, she’ll take a tough line on Russia; President Vladimir Putin and the Clintons show a reciprocal animosity. She’ll call for more engagement with China and, to the consternation of labor supporters, she will back trade deals, but with some conditions.

Google's Other Big Research Project: Curbing Its Own Prejudice.

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Even for a company that's trying to produce driverless cars and "solve" mortality, getting employees to overcome their own biases is a challenge. Robert Galbraith/Reuters Self-driving cars , balloons that beam Internet service to previously unconnected citizens below, immortality —these are the farsighted, high-risk pursuits that Google calls its "moonshots." But another one of its wildly ambitious projects isn't classified as such, and falls a lot closer to campus: curbing workplace discrimination. The company, which has roughly two male employees for every female employee , has spent three years making data-based revisions to its hiring and promotion processes. No company—and certainly no tech company —has figured

Life in the Land of Britain's Political Insurgents.

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From its base in a sleepy seaside town, the UK Independence Party is forcing a debate about immigration and national identity. The pier in Clacton-on-Sea (Amie Ferris-Rotman) CLACTON-ON-SEA, England—In 1964, as Britain experienced an influx of Asian and African post-colonial immigrants, Conservative Party member Peter Griffiths was controversially elected to parliament , winning on the slogan, “If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour.” It was a virulently racist campaign that shocked the British establishment, leading Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson to brand Griffiths a “leper,” jumpstarting the Birmingham division of the Ku Klux Klan, and evoking ire—and a whistle-stop visit—from Malcolm X. Fast-forward 50 years, and Britain is once again engaged in a row ov

How Christians Turned Against Gay Conversion Therapy.

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Obama's call to ban the practice reflects a tectonic shift within the community that once championed it. Andrew Kelly/Reuters Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the Christian right poured money and muscle into promoting the message that homosexuality was a curable disorder. It advocated conversion therapy, which promised to turn gay men and women straight. But last week, when President Obama announced his support for a national ban on such therapies, few voices on the Christian right spoke up in protest.

The World's First Self-Powered Video Camera Can Record Forever.

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It makes perfect sense. The sensors that capture images for a digital camera and the sensors that convert light into electricity for a solar cell rely on the same technology. So why not build a device with a sensor that does both, and create a self-powered video camera? Some Columbia University researchers did just that .

Jonathan’s letter on Constitution amendment shocks Senate.

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  President Goodluck Jonathan’s letter to the National Assembly,  rejecting amendments to the 1999 Constitution, which was read on the floor of Senate on Wednesday by Senate President, David Mark, was received with shock by some members, who openly expressed surprise at the reasons why the President vetoed the bill.

The shroud of secrecy around US drone strikes abroad must be lifted.

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The Texas-born Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh narrowly escaped a strike and is now standing before an American court. Others are not so lucky Americans have the right to due process. Even if they are suspected of terrorism. Photograph: LT. COL. LESLIE PRATT / HANDOUT/EPA It’s been over two years since President Obama promised new transparency and accountability rules when it comes to drone strikes, yet it’s become increasingly clear virtually no progress has been made. The criteria for who gets added to the unaccountable ‘kill list’ is still shrouded in secrecy – even when the US government is targeting its own citizens.

China Expands Islands in Disputed Waters, Photos Show.

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Satellite images show Woody Island and Duncan Island have grown significantly ENLARGED This handout photo taken on Feb. 25, 2014 shows an aerial shot of what appears to be a large-scale reclamation by China on the Chinese-held Johnson South Reef in what is part of the disputed Spratly chain. Photo: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/PHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANILA—China is expanding two islands it controls in the disputed Paracel Islands, east of Vietnam, satellite imagery published on Tuesday shows, even as it builds seven new islets in the South China Sea.

The Roots of Muslim Rage.

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Why so many Muslims deeply resent the West, and why their bitterness will not easily be mollified   In one of his letters Thomas Jefferson remarked that in matters of religion "the maxim of civil government" should be reversed and we should rather say, "Divided we stand, united, we fall." In this remark Jefferson was setting forth with classic terseness an idea that has come to be regarded as essentially American: the separation of Church and State. This idea was not entirely new; it had some precedents in the writings of Spinoza, Locke, and the philosophers of the European Enlightenment. It was in the United States, however, that the principle was first given the force of law and gradually, in the course of two centuries, became a reality.

'Competition' with China is Killing U.S.

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    "Protectionism conveniently shifts the blame for trade-related hardships to foreigners, which is easier than adapting homegrown business practices to make America more competitive." -- New York Times editorial, "Curing the Debt Addiction," Oct. 2 Well, that makes sense. According to The New York Times , what we need to do to compete with China economically is adopt commensurate "homegrown business practices" that will enhance our performance. What do they have in mind? Eliminating the freedom of speech? Outlawing free trade associations? Legalizing child labor? Eliminating all environmental regulations and letting workers roll around in hazardous chemicals for fifteen hours a day for ten cents an hour? Ending all forms of corporate transparency? Come to think of it, we could solve our juvenile delinquency program and our trade competitiveness problem at the

How Politics Breaks Our Brains.

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By Brian Resnick I'm lying in the metal coffin of an MRI machine, listening to what sounds like jackhammers and smelling my own breath go stale. My head is secured in place. I have a panic button. I won't press it, but I do grip it tightly. Above me, faces flash on a screen. Some are human, others are dolls, and some are digitally blended to be something in between. It's my job to figure out which are which. And as I do, researchers at New York University's brain-imaging center are tracking what goes on in my head.

Made In Africa: Three Cars Designed And Manufactured In Africa.

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Kantanka SUV models – Ghana According to the World Bank , Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to remain one of the fastest growing regions in the world. While Africa’s economy is soaring past most regions with an annual growth of about 5% due mainly to increased agriculture production, infrastructure investment including transportation, ports and energy as well as buoyant services led by tourism, telecommunications and financial services, the continent’s middle class is expected to swell to approximately 300 million people.

The Best Jobs For 2015.

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  CareerCast, a career advice and salary listing website owned by classified advertising and career support company Adicio, evaluated 200 jobs that have the most employees in the U.S., according to the Labor Department. Its researchers use a formula that takes into account income and growth potential in the field, and a range of measures like the degree of competitiveness and the amount of public contact (both viewed as negatives), physical demands including crawling, stooping and bending and work conditions like toxic fumes and noise.