A step toward democracy: Privately owned newspapers return to Myanmar

In Myanmar the state has monopolized the daily press since the 1960s, but on Monday, privately owned daily newspapers will hit the streets once again. The change is part of reform efforts by President Thein Sein.?

By Aye Aye Win,?Associated Press / March 31, 2013

Kyaw Min Swe, chief editor in The Voice newspaper, holds a copy of his daily in his office in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday. The reform process under President Thein Sein, who took office two years ago this month, has included the abolition of direct censorship of local media. On Monday, independent daily newspapers will be able to publish for the first time since 1964.

Khin Maung Win/AP

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For most people in Myanmar, it will be a novelty when privately run daily newspapers hit the streets on Monday. Many weren't even born when the late dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly on the daily press in the 1960s.

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But for 81-year-old Khin Maung Lay, the rebirth of daily newspapers is like a second lease on life. He is chief editor of Golden Fresh Land, one of four dailies going on sale Monday as Myanmar takes another step in its march toward democracy.

He's old enough to recall there once had been a big and vibrant daily press in the Burmese, English, Indian and Chinese languages in the period of parliamentary democracy after Myanmar, known then as Burma, won independence from Britain in 1948.

Khin Maung Lay worked as a senior newsman at the Burmese language Mogyo daily before it was driven out of business by government pressure in 1964.

Now as chief editor of Golden Fresh Land ? the name sounds less awkward in the original Burmese ? he heads a team of young journalists he recruited from various weeklies, who have only the briefest of acquaintances with the concept of a free press, having grown up under the military government that ruled for five decades. They are up against some media behemoths and papers belonging to the country's top political parties.

Khin Maung Lay acknowledges there are innumerable challenges ahead, but said he is ready to face them "in the name of freedom of press." He's well acquainted with the cutting edge of the concept ? he went to jail three times under Ne Win, including a three-year stretch in "protective custody," a catch-all phrase the military regime used as a reason for imprisoning critics.

"I foresee several hurdles along the way," he said. "However, I am ready to run the paper in the spirit of freedom and professionalism taught by my peers during the good old days."

The newspaper renaissance is part of the reform efforts of President Thein Sein, who, after serving as prime minister in the previous military regime, took office in March 2011 as head of an elected civilian government. Political and economic liberalization were at the top of his agenda, in an effort to boost national development.

The press has been a major beneficiary. The government lifted censorship in August last year, allowing reporters to print material that would have been unthinkable under military rule.

It's not smooth sailing yet. The draconian 1962 Printing and Registration Act remains in place until a new media law is enacted. It carries a maximum seven-year prison term for failure to register and allows the government to revoke publishing licenses at any time.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/B3iDUAclI8g/A-step-toward-democracy-Privately-owned-newspapers-return-to-Myanmar

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Judge: Jolie didn't plagiarize 'Blood and Honey'

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A federal judge says actress Angelina Jolie didn't steal the story for her movie "In the Land of Blood and Honey" from a Croatian author.

City News Service reports Friday's tentative ruling in Los Angeles will throw out the suit accusing Jolie of copyright infringement.

In 2011, author James Braddock sued Jolie and the film company that made the film, saying it was partly based on his book "The Soul Shattering."

U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee wrote in a tentative ruling that the plots, characters and themes in the two works were not "substantially" similar, though both centered on war romances.

Jolie wrote, directed and co-produced the film.

Braddock has been ordered to tell the court why his complaint should not be dismissed with prejudice.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-jolie-didnt-plagiarize-blood-honey-010625344.html

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Obama Calls Florida the 'Center of Basketball'

Obama in Miami

MIAMI - President Obama traveled to Florida to promote investment in infrastructure today, but it was clear he's got basketball on his mind.

As he opened his speech before a Miami crowd at a port site, the president ribbed the audience by boasting that his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, snapped the Miami Heat's winning streak on Wednesday.

"Now before we get started, I've got to get into a sticky subject. I know you guys aren't happy with my Chicago Bulls. But I just want you to know the Heat are going to be just fine," the president said. "They're going to be ok. They are playing basketball the right way."

On Wednesday, the Bulls ended the Heat's 27-game winning streak with a 101-97 victory over the Miami team. The Heat's run became the second longest streak in NBA history and fell six wins short of the record 33 wins set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

The president also praised the Florida college basketball teams who have advanced in the March Madness tournament.

"The [Miami] Hurricanes - they had a great season? They deserve a big round of applause," Obama said. "Tonight, you've got Florida and Florida Gulf Coast going at it. One of them will go to the Elite 8."

"Let's face it, Florida is the center of basketball right now," he said.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-calls-florida-center-basketball-192607344--abc-news-politics.html

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Charleston, W.V., Worst for Well-Being, Gallup Poll Finds

Mar 30, 2013 7:00am

Charleston, W.V. ranks last for well-being. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite its slogan ? Hip, Historic ? Almost Heaven ? Charleston, W.V., comes in last on Gallup?s latest well-being poll.

The city scored a meager 60.8 points on the pollster?s well-being index ? a 100-point scale measuring physical and emotional health, work environment and access to basic necessities.

The nearby Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area scored 61.2, landing in the bottom two for the third year in a row.

Mobile, Ala., Utica-Rome, N.Y., Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C., and Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla., round out the roster of frequent bottom dwellers.

Topping the list was Lincoln, Neb., which scored 72.8, landing in the top 20 cities for the third year in a row. Honolulu came in first for emotional health, and Charlottesville, Va., ranked No. 1 for physical health, according to the poll.

Top 10 Metropolitan Areas for Well-Being

• Lincoln, Neb. ? 72.8
• Boulder, Colo. ??72.7
• Burlington-South Burlington, Vt. ??72.4
• Provo-Orem, Utah ??71.7
• Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. ??71.6
• Barnstable Town, Mass. ??71.5
• Honolulu, Hawaii ??71.5
• Ann Arbor, Mich. ??71.4
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C., Va., Md., W.V. ??71.3
• San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. ??71.2

Bottom 11 Metropolitan Areas for Well-Being

• Charleston, W.V. ??60.8
• Huntington-Ashland, W.V., Ky., Ohio ??61.2
• Mobile, Ala. ??62.4
• Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas ??62.5
• Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C. ??62.7
• Fort Smith, Ark., Okla. ??62.9
• Bakersfield, Calif. ??63.0
• Evansville, Ind., Ky. ??63.1
• Rockford, Ill. ??63.1
• Spartanburg, S.C. ??63.4
• Utica-Rome, N.Y. ??63.4

Click here to see how your city stacks up.

SHOWS: Good Morning America

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/30/charleston-w-v-worst-for-well-being-gallup-poll-finds/

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Office-As-A-Service RocketSpace Doubles Real Estate To Accomodate Bigger Startups

Startups around the world are desperate for office space in the San Francisco Bay Area, so tomorrow RocketSpace will announce the lease of a new 50,000 sq. ft. office so it can house startups with up to 60 employees instead of capping them at 30. Along with this RocketSpace Suites project, the "office-as-a-service" plans to lock down another 100,000 sq. ft. spot and open a space in London this year.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Tfc2k1Zk_W4/

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Spy who foiled jet bomb plot to be Britain's intelligence chief

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - A British counterspy who helped to thwart an al Qaeda plot to blow up planes with explosives hidden in soft drink bottles and led the response to the 2005 London transport bombings will be the new head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, the U.K. government said on Thursday.

Andrew Parker has three decades' experience at the Security Service, known as MI5, countering Islamist militants, violent Irish republicans and organized criminals. He has been deputy chief since 2007, and once served as a British security liaison in the United States.

The 50-year-old, a keen birdwatcher and wildlife photographer, will be in charge of 3,800 staff investigating threats ranging from bomb plots and the spread of weapons of mass destruction to espionage and cyber attacks.

One of his first tasks will be to protect U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and other world leaders at the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland in June.

As Britain hosted the annual G8 meeting in 2005 in Gleneagles, Scotland, four suicide bombers killed 52 underground and bus commuters in London in coordinated attacks. Parker was in charge of the agency's response to the bombings and oversaw a significant expansion of its role.

Parker, who led MI5 teams that disrupted a 2006 conspiracy to attack several passenger jets with bombs hidden in soft drink bottles, said it was a "great honor" to be made head of the agency, also known as the Security Service.

"I look forward to leading the Service through its next chapter," he said in a statement.

The bespectacled father-of-two will replace the current head, Jonathan Evans, when he steps down in April after six years in the job during which Britain suffered no significant attacks.

Once so publicity-shy it officially did not exist and its director's identity was kept secret, MI5 now has a website which discusses its responsibilities and activities. On Thursday, the website posted an official biography of its new chief.

ENGLISH-SPEAKING MILITANTS

Counter-terrorism operations will remain at or near the top of MI5's priority assignments from the moment Parker takes the agency's helm.

European counter-terrorism officials have for years been concerned about British citizens and residents who travel to hot spots in the Middle East or South Asia, either to be indoctrinated and trained in militant ideology and guerrilla tactics before returning home, or to fight with local militants.

British authorities estimate that every year, 400,000 people travel from the U.K. to Pakistan. While only a tiny proportion of these travelers have any interest in militant activities, even a small number of recruits can cause disproportionate chaos, as occurred in London on July 7, 2005.

Among the hot spots which currently concern British and other European authorities most are Syria and Somalia. While travel by would-be militants to Somalia from Britain is relatively easy to trace, tracking movements of would-be recruits to anti-Assad forces in Syria is more difficult, since much such travel can be completed unobtrusively and over land.

European counter-terrorism officials have estimated that as many as 60 to 70 English-speaking militants with British citizenship or residence are currently fighting with rebel forces in Syria. There is concern that many of them may have joined up with al-Nusrah, an Islamist faction which U.S. officials describe as a front for Al Qaeda in Iraq.

CYBER-ESPIONAGE

While the signals intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is Britain's main cyber-security unit, under Parker's leadership MI5 will be responsible for investigating specific cases of state-sponsored cyber-espionage directed against such critical targets as gas and power grids and defense and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Based on what it learns from such cases and in consultation with other agencies, MI5 also advises potential targets on how to protect themselves against cyber attacks. MI5 does not have responsibility for cyber crime or dealing with hackers.

As part of its role in cyber security, Parker's agency will have to anticipate how to keep security measures ahead of technological innovation. And it will have to do so in an environment where greater productivity will have to be extracted from shrinking resources, including budgets.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Pravin Char and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spy-foiled-jet-bomb-plot-britains-mi5-intelligence-201926665.html

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Book Marketing: 9 Activities to Boost Your Author Career | The ...

There are millions of books out there, increasing in volume faster as the technology makes it easier to publish, so how do you stand out from the crowd?

I don?t believe there is only one answer, but I do think you need to do something to get noticed, stand out from the crowd and get your book sales started. Here?s some different ideas from Dana Sitar, author of ?A Writer?s Bucket List?.

You know you?re supposed to write a blog and be active on social media. You?re following all the tips you?ve ever heard for marketing your books through these channels ? even trying the ones that contradict each other ? but you always wonder if you could do more. If you feel stuck in a rut and searching for new ways to build your platform and promote your books, here are nine ideas to add to your arsenal:

1. Enter a contest.

Placing in and winning contests add to your credits and, depending on the contest, can afford you great cash prizes and opportunities in your field, like attending a writers conference or having your work published in a major publication. Prestigious leaders in the industry often judge the right contests, so even if you don?t place, you have a chance to put your work in front of people you couldn?t otherwise touch.

Writing for contests can also be a great motivator for fiction writers. Where non-fiction writers often have assignments and deadlines to guide their writing habit, fiction writers often have to be more self-motivated. Contest themes can afford you inspiration when you?re feeling blocked, and the deadlines force you to adhere to a writing schedule.

2. Submit stories to literary journals.

Rather than pining away your whole life and betting your entire career on a novel, break into publishing with baby steps. Without worrying whether you?ll be accepted, start submitting short stories or poetry to literary journals. Working with editorial guidelines and learning to accept inevitable rejection will help steel you for other endeavors in publishing. Even if you never have a story published, the experience of submitting and the feedback you?ll occasionally receive from thoughtful editors will be invaluable for strengthening your creative and professional skills.

Some magazines will even pay for your stories, so this is a great way to build an additional income stream so you don?t have to rely on book sales.

3. Create digital products.

Use your writing skills to develop more than stories. Create a helpful ebook, manifesto, an e-guide, or an online course. These may come very late in your career as a way to impart your wisdom, or early on as a way to share your work and connect with new readers.

Get creative! Being an author doesn?t mean you have to create products to teach other authors. Create products that will help you reach your readers. Write a free manifesto from the point-of-view of your main character. Create an e-guide to the capital city in your fantasy world. Develop an online course to share tips and recipes in the style of cooking your characters are famous for. Diversifying the products you create will help you not only reach a broader audience but also broaden your own knowledge and your voice.

4. Produce a book trailer.

For at least one book you publish, write and produce a trailer video. I mean do it yourself ? or, at least, work very closely with the professional you hire to do it for you. Even if you don?t want to be responsible for this step for all of your books, going through the process at least once will help you develop new skills, and understanding it will prepare you to work with publishers on marketing future books.

Videos are a fantastic marketing tool, even when they?re marketing books. Developing a multi-media presence online will not only help you reach a wider audience but will also greatly enhance your appeal to the audience you already have.

5. Write a column for a newspaper or newsletter.

I know: You?re a fiction writer, not a journalist. But, why would people buy your book if they don?t know who you are? Maybe they?ll recognize your name from your book review column in the library?s newsletter, or your pontificating in the local weekly.

Even if the focus of your writing career is not on freelance news writing, you can make steady income and gain at least local recognition from a regular column (national or international if you work with an e-newsletter). Your column gives readers a chance to sample your writing and get to know you without investing additional time to read your blog or money to buy your books.

6. Meet other writers in person.

Some of the best education you?ll find in any art form comes from the people who are doing what you do ? or better, what you dream to do. Getting to know others who share and understand your interests and goals also comes with a unique comfort and camaraderie that even the most supportive group of non-writer friends or family can?t quite offer.

If you?re exclusively active in online forums, social media, or blogging, make an effort to connect in real life with some of the people you know online. You don?t have to shell out the time and money to attend a writers conference or retreat (though, those are also good options). Just pay attention to where your online friends are living or traveling, and send an occasional ?Let?s grab coffee? email when they?re in your area.

7. Find and keep a good critique partner.

You know the value of getting a second opinion on anything you write. That value increases greatly when the opinion comes from someone who understands your voice, style, and intentions well. Finding a skilled writer with whom to swap critiques throughout your career will do wonders for your writing and your brand. Start with finding a critique group in your area through (Meetup is a great place to start), or an online group like LadiesWhoCritique, and work with a few people to find your ideal partnership.

8. Generate an email list.

?Permission marketing? is the buzzword phrase of the day, and building an email list is its most basic manifestation. When a reader gives you an email address, they expect and welcome correspondence from you. It gives you an opportunity to make promises, which creates expectations, and keep them, which fosters goodwill, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Writing an email newsletter is one of the best ways to build an email list, because it allows you to offer something of value ? news, information, or just another way of connecting ? to your readers in exchange for permission to contact them. If your fan base is loyal enough, you may be able to get readers to sign up just to hear your news. If you?re still working to grow your audience, try offering an incentive to sign up ? many authors and bloggers offer a free item when readers join their list (your new digital product could come in handy here!)

9. Speak at live events.

Successfully capturing the attention of an audience ? or, even better, eliciting an emotional response like laughter or tears ? is one of the greatest highs you will experience in life. That massive payoff is probably why it?s so nerve-wracking for most people. Get through it a few times, and your self-confidence will soar through the roof.

Writers can too easily neglect live events, because we?re often quiet, behind-the-scenes people. We want our work to speak for itself. But stepping out in front of audience helps you connect with readers and potential readers in a more real, more memorable way. Live events also offer more pragmatic benefits: Readers will be more likely to purchase your paperback in person than online, where they can compare it to the cheaper ebook option, and meet-and-greets allow you to hand-sign copies of your book, turning them into personal mementos for your readers.

Do you have any advice or experience with these different ways of getting attention for your writing? Or any other suggestions? I?d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Want more ideas to boost your writing career and ignite your creativity? My latest book, AWriter?sBucketList is a launching point for all the possibilities of being a writer. Grab the PDF today, or signup to be notified shortly when the book is available for Kindle and paperback.

About the Author

Dana Sitar is a freelance blogger and author of ?AWriter?sBucketList?, 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket. She shares resources, tips, and tools for writers in search of a path through the blog, books, and community at DIYWriting.

Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Alex Kess Raincoats

Tagged as: competitions, promotion, speaking

Source: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/03/28/boost-your-author-career/

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InMobi Launches App Publish, An Android App Distribution Platform Covering Hundreds Of Stores; Puts Its Metaflow Acquisition To Work

Mobile advertising network InMobi today took one more step in its bid to be a one-stop shop for developers' app marketing needs, in the process taking advantage of the massive fragmentation that exists on the Android platform. It has launched App Publish, a distribution platform specifically for Android apps, which lets developers push their free, paid, or freemium apps to many different Android app stores at once. App Publish, which is free to use, is kicking off with about 130 app stores worldwide, and it will be adding more at the rate of around one to two per week, according to Charles McLeod, director of business development for InMobi.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/llgkBXXvuho/

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Microsoft Endlessly Disappoints With ?New? Windows Phone Apps

Microsoft has breathlessly announced several new game titles for Windows Phone 8. And once again, Redmond continues to disappoint.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/IJAniRUe2EU/

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New insights into how genes turn on and off

Mar. 27, 2013 ? Researchers at UC Davis and the University of British Columbia have shed new light on methylation, a critical process that helps control how genes are expressed. Working with placentas, the team discovered that 37 percent of the placental genome has regions of lower methylation, called partially methylated domains (PMDs), in which gene expression is turned off. This differs from most human tissues, in which 70 percent of the genome is highly methylated.

While PMDs have been identified in cell lines, this is the first time they have been found in regular human tissue. In addition to enhancing our understanding of epigenetics, this work could influence cancer research and help illuminate how environmental toxins affect fetal development. The paper was published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Since it was unraveled more than ten years ago, the human genome has been the focus of both popular interest and intense scientific focus. But the genome doesn't act alone; there are many factors that influence whether genes are turned on or off. One of these is an epigenetic process called methylation, in which a group of carbon and hydrogen atoms (a methyl group) attaches to DNA, adjusting how genes are expressed.

"I like to think of epigenetics as a layer on top of your genetic code," said senior author Janine LaSalle, professor of medical microbiology and immunology. "It's not the DNA sequence but it layers on top of that -- and methylation is the first layer. Those layers provide a lot of information to the cells on where and when to turn on the genes."

How and when genes are activated (or inactivated) can have a profound impact on human development, cancer and the biological legacy of environmental toxins. Prior to this research, PMDs had only been found in cultured cell lines, which led some scientists to wonder if they existed outside the test tube. This study confirms they exist in placental tissue, a critically important window into fetal development.

"The placenta is the interface between mother and fetus," said LaSalle, who is a researcher affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute. "It's a time capsule from when a lot of important methylation events occurred."

In addition, placental tissue was interesting to study because it has a number of invasive characteristics often associated with cancer. In fact, a number of cancers, such as breast and colon, have widespread PMDs. LaSalle notes that anti-cancer epigenetic therapies that adjust methylation could be refined based on this improved understanding of PMDs.

This work could also enhance our ability to detect genetic defects. Methylation, and other epigenetic data, provides information that cannot be found in the genome alone. For example, the vast majority of cells in the body contain identical genetic code. However, the added information provided by methylation allows scientists to determine where specific DNA came from.

"Methylation patterns are like fingerprints, showing which tissue that DNA is derived from," LaSalle said. "You can't get that information from just the DNA sequence. As a result, methylation studies could be a very rich source for biomarkers."

In the study, PMDs encompassed 37 percent of the placental genome, including 3,815 genes, around 17 percent of all genes. When found in low-methylation regions, these genes were less likely to be transcribed into proteins. Researchers also found that PMDs also contain more highly methylated CpG islands (genomic areas with large numbers of cytosine-guanine pairs), which are often associated with gene transcriptional silencing of promoters.

Because the placental PMDs contained many genes associated with neuronal development, and specifically autism, LaSalle notes that future research could investigate how epigenetics impacts autism genes at birth.

"We are looking for biomarkers that predict neurodevelopmental outcomes," LaSalle said. "Now we have a series of snap shots from a critical period where we think environmental factors are playing a role in the developing brain."

The study's other authors include : Diane I. Schroeder, John Blair, Paul Lott, Hung On Ken Yu, Danna Hong, Florence Crary, Paul Ashwood, Cheryl Walker, Ian Korf and Wendy P. Robinson.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health System.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. D. I. Schroeder, J. D. Blair, P. Lott, H. O. K. Yu, D. Hong, F. Crary, P. Ashwood, C. Walker, I. Korf, W. P. Robinson, J. M. LaSalle. The human placenta methylome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215145110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/8kZhObbcJdo/130327132550.htm

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Crowdfunding, Micro-Patronage, and the Future of Free Software

The "free" in Free Software refers to "freedom", rather than cost. It is largely a happy coincidence that Free Software is available gratis. Copyleft licensing certainly helps, but there's no overarching reason that Free-as-in-Freedom software need not cost anything. As Free Software has evolved and matured over the years, several major developmental archetypes have emerged.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4Wk4Z089WrI/

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Utah man dies doing sandstone arch swing made popular on web

Scott Smith

Corona Arch near Moab, Utah. The arch has become popular for adrenaline junkies seeking a thrill by swinging through the 140-foot sandstone arch.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

A 22-year-old man recreating what has recently become a popular stunt was killed after apparently leaving too much slack in the rope he was using to swing through a massive sandstone arch in Utah, police said Monday.?

Kyle Lee Stocking, of West Jordan, and five friends hiked to the Corona Arch in southeastern Utah on Sunday to attempt the stunt made famous on YouTube.

But Stocking miscalculated the length of the rope he used to swing from the 140-foot sandstone arch and struck the ground when he jumped, according to the Grand County Sheriff's Office.

County deputies, search and rescue personnel and paramedics all responded to the accident, but Stocking was pronounced dead at the scene.

Internet videos have popularized the dangerous activity, which involves using a rope to swing like a pendulum through massive arches and canyons. A YouTube video titled "World's Largest Rope Swing," shot at the same arch where Stocking attempted his swing, ?has garnered more than 17 million views since being posted last month.

By Monday night, the comments page attached to the video had largely turned into a debate about the safety of the activity and the wisdom of bolstering it through a well produced video.

YouTube

This video of people swinging from the Corona Arch has received more than 17 million YouTube views since being posted in February.

Previously, hiking and adventure companies could charge to take daring patrons to the top of the arch for their chance to get the swing of a lifetime, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

But earlier this year Utah state officials outlawed the activity, largely because of the danger posed ? and a forthcoming land exchange between School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and?the Bureau of Land Management.

The arch has nevertheless remained opened for private parties wishing to climb or swing.?

"If people want to huck themselves off a cliff or arch that?s their business," said John Andrews, SITLA?s general counsel, told the Tribune in February. "There is a general principle that owners who hold their land open for recreational use are insulated from liability. We felt there was more risk [exposure to the state] if someone operated under a permit and someone got hurt."

Yet prohibiting commercial outfitters from professionally charging for swinging adventures has raised objections from those who say people will swing regardless, so it would be better to do it with some professional oversight.

"If you don?t do it exactly right you can die,"?Thad James,?owner of the Utah outfitter High Adventure, told the Tribune when the ban first went into effect.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management told the Associate Press on Monday they will be ?"taking a closer look at appropriate ways to balance and manage these activities on public lands."

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29fc6b65/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C250C174618260Eutah0Eman0Edies0Edoing0Esandstone0Earch0Eswing0Emade0Epopular0Eon0Eweb0Dlite/story01.htm

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Supreme Court, in next gay marriage case, eyes federal law (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Consumer confidence falls in March

In this March 5, 2013 photo, shoppers look at clothing on sale at the Footloose store in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said its reading of consumer confidence fell in March after rebounding last month. The index gauges how Americans are feeling about their jobs, incomes and other bread-and-butter issues. That's important because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In this March 5, 2013 photo, shoppers look at clothing on sale at the Footloose store in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said its reading of consumer confidence fell in March after rebounding last month. The index gauges how Americans are feeling about their jobs, incomes and other bread-and-butter issues. That's important because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In this March 5, 2013 photo, a shopper looks at clothing on sale at the Footloose store in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said its reading of consumer confidence fell in March after rebounding last month. The index gauges how Americans are feeling about their jobs, incomes and other bread-and-butter issues. That's important because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Americans are less confident in the economy than they were last month as massive government spending cuts have stoked economic uncertainty.

It's just the latest swing in the way Americans feel about the economy. Their views have fluctuated between optimism and angst over the months as they've weighed an advancing stock market and housing recovery against new economic challenges.

The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell in March to 59.7 from a revised reading of 68 in February and the 68.7 that analysts polled by research firm FactSet expected. Confidence is still far off from the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy.

The index is closely watched by economists because it makes a monthly gauge of how Americans are feeling about their jobs, incomes and other bread-and-butter issues. That's important because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Anxiety about $85 billion in across-the-board government spending cuts that took effect March 1 caused the decline in the index, the group said. The spending reductions, which were triggered after Congress and the White House failed to resolve a budget impasse, have "created uncertainty regarding the economic outlook," Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators, said in a statement

Congress and the Obama administration reached a deal on Jan. 1 to prevent income taxes from rising on most Americans. But they allowed a temporary cut in Social Security taxes to expire. For a worker earning $50,000 a year, take-home pay will shrink by about $1,000.

The Conference Board's survey was conducted from March 1 through March 14. The sharp decline in the March index was caused mainly by a drop in expectations for the economy, though consumers also were more pessimistic regarding current economic conditions, the group said. The number of people anticipating more jobs in the months ahead fell to 12.3 percent from 16.1 percent, while those expecting their incomes to increase slipped to 13.7 percent from 15.8 percent.

Consumers also are again pessimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy, the group said. The proportion of people expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell to 14.4 percent from 18 percent a month earlier, while those expecting conditions to worsen rose to 18.3 percent from 16.6 percent.

The index comes as Americans are seeing some signs of an improving economy.

Stock prices have roughly doubled since June 2009. And the job market, while still tough, is rebounding. Employers added 236,000 jobs in February, driving the unemployment rate down to 7.7 percent, its lowest level in more than four years. The gains signaled that companies are confident enough in the economy to intensify hiring even in the face of tax increases and government spending cuts.

Americans spent more at retailers in February despite the smaller paychecks, according to a Commerce Department report issued on March 13. Much of the increase in retail sales compared with January reflected higher gasoline prices. But even excluding the volatile categories of gas, autos and building supply stores, so-called core retail sales rose strongly.

The healthier-than-expected numbers prompted some experts to revise their estimates of U.S. economic growth for the January-March quarter. And the Conference Board's measure of the U.S. economy's health over the next six months, reported on Thursday, increased in February from January.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-26-Consumer%20Confidence/id-1911b5f1838f433f9de81daf4c3a4735

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FBI denies report it arrested Russian tycoon Abramovich

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation denied a report on Monday that it had detained Roman Abramovich, the Russian metals tycoon who owns London's Chelsea soccer club.

"We didn't arrest him. It's just not true," an FBI spokeswoman said in response to an unsourced report by Russia's RBK financial news portal that Abramovich had been held in the United States.

The RBK report followed media speculation over the unexplained death in Britain of exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who launched and lost a multi-billion-dollar court case last year against Abramovich, his former business partner.

Abramovich's Moscow spokesman, John Mann, said earlier that the report was false.

"He is in the U.S. but he has not been arrested or detained," Mann said.

Abramovich, 46, is a major shareholder in London-listed steel firm Evraz, whose shares fell by more than 6 percent before recovering to trade 3.4 percent down on the day.

The London-based tycoon is reputed to have close ties to the Kremlin. Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at $10.2 billion.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine in Moscow and David Ingram in Washington; Editing by Steve Gutterman and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-tycoon-abramovich-not-detained-u-spokesman-143839213--finance.html

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Osborne defends austerity, says on right track

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/osborne-defends-austerity-says-track-151139751--business.html

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Anti-Rape PSAs That Blame The Victim - Business Insider

Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board

This ad was pulled after various complaints to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

When two high school football players were convicted of raping an intoxicated girl in Steubenville, Ohio, ? after sending pictures of the act to friends and posting about it on social media ? a significant portion of the backlash was aimed at the victim?rather than her attackers.

Even CNN was criticized for empathizing with the two convicted rapists.

It might be the 21st century, but there's still a tendency to?blame the victim,?be it for drinking or wearing a short skirt. The meme of targeting the violated as opposed to the violator has even made it into modern PSAs that are supposed to be anti-domestic violence.

We have collected eight recent ads that imply if a woman drinks or fails to cover up, then she is somehow asking for it.

The most headline-inducing recent example was when the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board released a series of posters showing a woman's legs sprawled on a bathroom floor, underwear at her ankles, with the text, "See what happens when your friends drink too much?" They were later pulled.

We've also found a few anti-rape PSAs that get the message right, so there's hope for progress.

Click here to see 8 anti-rape PSAs that blame the victim >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/anti-rape-psas-that-blame-the-victim-2013-3

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Israelis get kosher cigarettes for Passover

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in a final preparation before the Passover holiday in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, March. 25, 2013. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in a final preparation before the Passover holiday in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, March. 25, 2013. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Observant Jews in Israel craving a smoke during the week-long Passover holiday that starts at sundown Monday can now enjoy a rabbi-approved puff.

It's the first time cigarettes have joined the long list of goods stringently checked to ensure they comply with Passover rules on what items are allowed, or kosher for the holiday ? meaning they have not come in contact with grains or other forbidden ingredients.

The stamp of approval came from the Beit Yosef private rabbinic group, which certifies foods as compliant with Jewish dietary restrictions. Last month, Beit Yosef approved three local cigarette brands for smoking during Passover. The chief rabbinate in Israel, however, disapproved of the measure, saying cigarettes are life-threatening and should not be approved by rabbis.

"Poison is not kosher. For all days of the year, not just Passover," said the chief rabbinate's spokesman, Ziv Maor.

But Rabbi Igal Ben Ezra, Beit Yosef's chief supervisor, said the certification was meant for Israeli smokers who only buy products marked as "kosher for Passover" and who might be concerned about buying cigarettes without such a label. It's "mostly for people who have doubts on this subject," said Ben Ezra.

The Jewish holiday of Passover celebrates the biblical Exodus story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. According to tradition, the Israelites were in a rush and had no time to let their bread rise as they fled. To commemorate the hasty Exodus, Jews eat matzo, or flat wheat crackers that symbolize unleavened bread, and refrain from foods containing leavening such as pasta during Passover.

During the holiday, Jewish law forbids chametz ? anything consisting of grains that may have come in contact with water, starting the process of fermentation.

Jews, including many who are not religiously observant the rest of the year, spend weeks ahead of Passover cleaning their homes and belongings to rid them of any morsel of food considered to be chametz.

The week-long Passover diet is in addition to the year-round kosher regulations that ban pork and shellfish, require meat to be ritually slaughtered and forbid the mixing of meat and dairy.

And even though only about 20 percent of Israeli Jews identify themselves as Orthodox, statistics suggest almost everyone attends the traditional Passover meal and most Israeli Jews refrain from eating foods that contain forbidden grains throughout the holiday.

To accommodate them, the Israeli food industry transforms ahead of Passover.

Manufacturers of popular snacks substitute their regular recipes with ingredients approved for Passover. Cows eat corn and alfalfa instead of grain-based hay so that observant Jews can drink their milk because religious practice forbids deriving benefit from an animal that has eaten banned grains. Kosher restaurants, including kosher branches of McDonalds, serve buns made of alternative ingredients, such as potato flour.

Determining what exactly is permitted during Passover has become more complicated in the modern age, as rabbis have pondered what to do with products like pet food and pills. Many industries have adapted and as a result, there are now pet products and medicines that are labeled kosher-for-Passover.

This is the first time, however, that cigarettes in Israel are carrying such a label for the holiday.

Ben Ezra, the Kosher supervisor, said the local cigarette company, Dubek contacted him to help settle the kosher debate.

After an inspection of the company's factory a month ago, he concluded that Noblesse, Time and Golf cigarettes could be deemed kosher for smoking on Passover ? as long as the factory used ingredients that had not come in contact with leavened products. He would not specify those ingredients, saying he was sworn to secrecy.

Ben Ezra said he himself quit smoking eight months ago but used to smoke during Passover even without such a thing as "kosher cigarettes."

Maor, the spokesman for Israel's chief rabbis who oversee kosher supervision of foods, said they do not approve of labeling cigarettes as kosher and permitted for Passover, but were unable to prevent it because they only regulate the food market.

"There are some communities who consider it important that everything they bring home has a kosher stamp on it," said Maor.

Cigarettes have not been alone in the debate over what's kosher for Passover.

In the 1990s, some particularly devout officials asked the national water authority to stop pumping water on Passover from the country's sole freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee. They were concerned that Jews could break Passover rules by drinking tap water possibly "contaminated" by fishermen who may have thrown grain-based fish food into the lake or picnicking Israelis who may have tossed breadcrumbs into it.

As a result, Israel's water authority began plugging the pipe from the Sea of Galilee three days before Passover and pumping water from underground aquifers and water reservoirs instead ? though most rabbis, even from the strictest streams of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, say this is unnecessary.

"No one feels the difference," said Uri Schor, spokesman of the water authority. "Whenever you open the faucet, you have water."

Hours ahead of Passover, many Israelis were finishing cleaning their homes Monday of every last bread crumb, feverishly cooking and swarming supermarkets to stock up on food for the Seder, the traditional Passover meal.

In Jerusalem, smoke filled the air as some religious Jews burned the last of their bread crumbs while others dunked their plates in large vats of hot water set up around the city, so their dishes would be completely free of bread products.

The airport was busier than usual with travelers taking advantage of the holiday to travel abroad, and local TV stations gave Israelis advice on avoiding traffic jams when driving to their relatives for the Seder.

The military announced a two-day closure on the West Bank to keep Palestinians out of Israel at the start of the holiday, with exemptions for medical emergencies and other humanitarian reasons. The army imposes such security closures during Jewish and Israeli holidays.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-25-Israel-Kosher%20Cigarettes/id-09f6206918e740b79489bc47ba771047

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DivX Mobile Community 0.95*

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	Le lecteur officiel de DivX de la soci?t? DivX ? ll'origine du c?l?bre codec vid?o. Disponible pour plateforme Symbian 9.0 et Windows Mobile 5 et 6 aussi bien Smartphone que Pocket PC. Page web accessible directement via le lien http://mm.divx.com (attention, c'est encore en beta) -------------------------------- Review : Au lancement du soft, une page bleu-clair s'affiche pendant quelques secondes sans que rien ne se passe ; en arri?re-plan le programme scanne tous les divx aussi bien en m?moire interne que sur les supports de stockage. Et cela rapidement par rapport au nombre trouv? sur mon Pda : 140 ! Dans cette nouvelle version l'optimisation est de mise et l'ergonomie aussi. L'interface est plus conviviable et plus riche que sur les mis?rables versions pr?c?dentes. Plusieurs b?mol toutefois : - J'aurais aim? une barre de progression avec une explication du genre "scanning..." pour signaler que le programme travaille d?s le lancement. - J'aurais aim? un autre syst?me de recherche de vid?os car toutes les vid?os sont d?voil?es par une saisie-video ? la fin du scanning. - quelques vid?os s'affichent mal et rament, probl?me d'optimisation des codecs ? - Et il manque le fran?ais parmi les quatre traductions propos?es. TCPMP a encore de beaux jours devant lui. ;) [] ?(Traduction: Jcc13) Auteur: DivX Labs Date: 25-03-5560 Liens: Site Web Note: 5/10 Taille: 870 Ko Hits: 26660 Download: Download?( ARM/XSCALE )

Bonjour ? tous, La version 0.93 est dispo (11/12/2009) > http://m.divx.com/divx

Bonjour. Nouvelle version dispo depuis quelques jours : 0.94 :-)

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Bonjour, Nouvelle version dispo depuis le 22/04/2011 : 0.95 :-)

@tous, pour signaler une nouvelle version Une petit lien existe (sous le lien download) Une erreur ?: Signaler une erreur (lien mort, etc...) l'essayer c'est l'adopter ;)

Mouais pas mal... en freeware, le must reste quand m?me TCPMP avec son lecteur multi-format et Finger Friendly... Salut Americo, mais t'es partout ou quoi ?

HI LeSScro, a small world Community ...

Source: http://www.pocketpcfreeware.com/fr/index.php?soft=2518

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Kerry warns Iraq on Iran flights to Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, second right, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, arrives to meet with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not pictured, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 24, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? The U.S. has made clear that Iraq shouldn't allow Iran to use its airspace to ship weapons and fighters to Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Sunday during an unannounced trip to Baghdad.

Following private discussions with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Kerry said the two had a "very spirited discussion" on the subject of Iranian overflights. The U.S. believes the Iranian shipments are aiding Syrian President Bashar Assad and undermining Western-backed opposition groups.

"I made it very clear that for those of us who are engaged in an effort to see President Assad step down ... anything that supports President Assad is problematic," Kerry said.

Kerry also said that U.S. lawmakers and the American people are "increasingly watching what Iraq is doing and wondering how it is a partner."

In the absence of a complete ban on flights, the U.S. would at least like the planes to land and be inspected in Iraq to ensure that they are carrying humanitarian supplies. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton secured a pledge from Iraq to inspect the flights last year, but since then only two aircraft have been checked by Iraqi authorities, according to U.S. officials.

The overflights have long been a source of contention between the U.S. and Iraq and Kerry will tell the Iraqis that allowing them to continue will make the situation in Syria worse and ultimately threaten Iraq's stability.

One senior U.S. official said the sheer number of overflights, which occur "close to daily," along with shipments trucked to Syria from Iran through Iraq, was inconsistent with claims they are only carrying humanitarian supplies. The official said it was in Iraq's interest to prevent the situation in Syria from deteriorating further, particularly as there are fears that al-Qaida-linked extremists may gain a foothold in the country as the Assad regime falters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to publicly preview Kerry's meetings, said there are clear links between al-Qaida linked extremists operating in Syria and militants who are also carrying out terrorist attacks in Iraqi territory with increasing regularity.

A group of fighters in Syria known as Jabhat al-Nusra, a powerful offshoot of al-Qaida in Iraq that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, has claimed responsibility for most of the deadliest suicide bombings against regime and military facilities and, as a result, has gained popularity among some rebels.

Kerry will tell al-Maliki, a Shiite with close ties to Iran, that Iraq cannot be part of the political discussion about Syria's future until it clamps down on the Iranian shipments, the senior official said.

As Iraq approaches provincial elections next month, Kerry will also stress the importance of ensuring that all elements of society feel enfranchised, the official said. A recent decision to delay the polls in Anbar and Nineveh provinces is a "serious setback" to Iraq's democratic institutions and should be revisited, the official said.

In addition to al-Maliki, Kerry saw Iraqi parliament speaker parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni, whose faction is at odds with Maliki's Shiia. Kerry also spoke by phone with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government based in Irbil to encourage the Kurds not go ahead with unilateral actions - especially involving oil, like a pipeline deal with Turkey.

He will stress the "importance of maintaining the unity of Iraq," say that "separate efforts undercut the unity of the country" and that "the Kurdish republic cannot survive financially without the support of Baghdad," the official said.

Kerry's arrival came just three days after the anniversary of the U.S.-led war that began on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike on Dora Farms in southern Baghdad in a failed attempt to kill Hussein.

The invasion and toppling of Hussein sparked years of bloodshed as Sunni and Shiite militants battled U.S. forces and each other, leaving nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis dead.

Violence has ebbed sharply since the peak of Sunni-Shiite fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. But insurgents are still able to stage high-profile attacks, and sectarian and ethnic rivalries remain threats to the country's long-term stability.

Earlier this week, an al-Qaida in Iraq front group claimed responsibility nearly 20 attacks that killed 65 people across the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Islamic State of Iraq said it unleashed the car bombs and other explosions to avenge the executions and "massacres" of convicted Sunni inmates held in Iraqi prisons. Its claim came on the 10th anniversary of the start of the war, although it made no reference to the significance of the date.

Kerry arrived in Baghdad from Amman, where he had been accompanying President Barack Obama on his tour of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan. His visit to Iraq is the first by a U.S. secretary of state since Clinton went in April 2009. During Obama's first term, the Iraq portfolio was largely delegated to Vice President Joe Biden.

Since Clinton's trip, the American diplomatic presence in Iraq has shrunk dramatically, most significantly since U.S. ended military operations in late 2011, according to officials. A year ago, there were 16,000 State Department employees and contractors in the country. As of Kerry's visit, that number had declined to 10,500 and it will drop to 5,100 by the end of 2013, officials said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-24-Mideast-Kerry/id-4b45687aed52402083b2caa1125e6986

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Wichita St.'s 3-pointers boot No. 1 Gonzaga 76-70

Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) dunks the ball in the first half during a third-round game against Gonzaga in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) dunks the ball in the first half during a third-round game against Gonzaga in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos (4) guards Wichita State's Ron Baker (31) in the first half during a third-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, center, drives between Wichita State's Ehimen Orukep, left and Ron Baker during the first half during a third-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, center, is sandwiched between Wichita State's Carl Hall, left and Demetric Willimas during the first half of a third-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk dunks against Wichita State in the first half during a third-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/George Frey)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? The No. 1 got taken down by a bunch of 3s.

Gonzaga is out of the NCAA tournament thanks to Wichita State, a No. 9 seed that made five straight shots from behind the arc Saturday for a 76-70 victory that sent the West Region's top seed ? and the nation's No. 1 team during the regular season ? back home.

"This is incredible for our team," said freshman guard Ron Baker, who hit four of the Shockers' season-high 14 3-pointers. "We came together down the stretch and pulled the upset off. This feeling is unimaginable."

Now Wichita State doesn't have to try and emulate fellow mid-major Gonzaga any more.

The Shockers (28-6) one-upped the Zags (32-3) on the NCAA tournament stage, and advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2006. They are headed to Los Angeles to face the winner of Sunday's game between La Salle and Ole Miss.

Gonzaga became the first top seed to be eliminated, giving all the Zags' doubters an I-told-you-so moment. The Zags survived a scare in the second round against Southern but couldn't hold up against a Shockers team whose motto is "play angry."

Call it the Marshall plan, by 50-year-old Shockers coach Gregg Marshall.

He pulled his team aside after Gonzaga had made its big second-half run to take an eight-point lead.

"You know what I asked them? On Oct. 15, down eight with eight minutes to go, would you take it for the right to go to Los Angeles in the Sweet 16?" Marshall asked. "And they did it from there."

Cleanthony Early and Baker scored 16 points apiece, freshman Fred VanVleet added 13, Carl Hall had 10 and Tekele Cotton eight.

Baker called it the epitome of team.

While Baker hasn't been this deep in the tournament before, the Shockers are no stranger to the NCAAs, with Saturday's win evening their record at 10-10. They earned a trip to the Final Four in 1965, the regional finals three times and most recently made it to the Round of 16 in 2006 before losing to George Mason.

Marshall also led Winthrop to seven NCAA tournament appearances during his nine seasons there.

Still, Wichita State hadn't fared so well against top-ranked teams. The last time they played one, in 1967, they lost by 34. That was UCLA, a team that went on to win its fourth of 10 titles during the Wooden era.

While Gonzaga held the top spot in the AP Top 25 over the final weeks of the season, skeptics thought of the Bulldogs as a soft No. 1 seed that benefited from a relatively easy schedule in the West Coast Conference while other top contenders were getting banged around in the power conferences.

That's not to say the Bulldogs didn't fight, with Kelly Olynyk scoring 26 points to lead Gonzaga, and Kevin Pangos adding 19.

Gonzaga trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, was down 36-31 at the break, but came on strong early in the second half.

Wichita State was not intimidated.

"They never quit," Marshall said. "You know we got the big lead, Gonzaga makes a great run as a No. 1 team in the country would, and these guys dig down."

Shockers, for sure.

They showed their grit after Gonzaga's 12-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 49-41 lead with 11:53 left. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kevin Pangos and Michael Hart started it, Olynyk hit a jumper then a pair of free throws, and Pangos capped it with a steal and fast-break layup.

But Wichita State outscored the Zags 35-21 from there.

The string of five straight 3s began when Tekele Cotton spotted up with 6:05 remaining and hit a shot that cut Wichita State's seven-point deficit to four.

It ended at the 1:28 mark when VanVleet, dribbling the ball between his legs, nearly lost it, but gathered himself and threw one up with 1 second left on the shot clock. It went in, the Shockers were ahead 70-65 and the rest of the game was a free-throw-shooting contest.

"I was just disappointed that with 1 second left that we even let him get a 3 off," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "That was a mental error on our part."

The Shockers, who made just 2 of 20 3-pointers in their 18-point win over Pitt on Thursday, shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent overall.

"They deserve a ton of credit," Few said. "It's the first time in a while someone made 50 percent on us, and to bang in 14 3s (overall) is pretty amazing."

It was another sudden end to an amazing ride for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs were playing in their 15th straight NCAA tournament but have not advanced past the Round of 16 since 1999.

"I think we just ... let our guard down a little bit," Hart said. "That was key. We defended so well at start of the second half, then we just lost some guys. You can't do that when guys get it going. You gotta get a hand up and stay close to your assignments. We kinda lost it there a few possessions and that really hurt us."

While the Zags left disappointed, the Shockers stayed fairly low key in victory.

At one point, Early and teammate Chadrack Lufile jumped up and body slammed each other and the Shockers huddled at midcourt for a long team hug. But largely, Wichita State acted like a team that's been there before.

"We play together, we stick to our goals, we're good teammates," Baker said. He hardly looked fazed.

The game was physical as expected, with Olynyk getting a forearm across his neck in the first half but continuing to go hard at the basket.

Gonzaga's 39-30 rebounding edge couldn't make up for 36 percent shooting.

Six different Wichita State players hit 3s in the opening 20 minutes as the Shockers made 7 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half.

They finished 14 of 28 overall.

"Man it means a lot," Shockers senior forward Carl Hall said. "It means a lot to this program and our fans deserve this."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-24-NCAA-Wichita%20State-Gonzaga/id-9058a7ba261f4d43b689f80347bc0278

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