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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Marco Rubio, immigration reform, and 2016: the big risk

As Conan O?Brien put it last Saturday night, Marco Rubio is the Republicans? ?black guy.?

That is, he?s the charismatic, young, minority senator who is clearly running for president ? as then-Sen. Barack Obama was just a few years ago. And if the early polls on 2016 are any guide, Senator Rubio of Florida is a strong contender, if not the strongest, for the Republican nomination.

But there?s a big difference between how Senator Obama ran for president and how Rubio appears to be running. A quick scan of President Obama?s four-year record in the Senate reveals a junior member who did not get out front on any major issue, and was about to declare his candidacy for president by the start of his third year. By then, Mr. Obama had already wrapped himself up in ?hope and change? ? gauzy rhetoric upon which voters could project their own aspirations.

RECOMMENDED: Could you pass a US citizenship test?

Rubio is in a wholly different boat. As the only experienced Hispanic senator in the Republican Party ? now joined by the more hard-line conservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas ? Rubio is a natural ambassador to a voting bloc that Republicans desperately need to attract. And after GOP nominee Mitt Romney?s poor performance with Latino voters (just 27 percent), Rubio understands that enacting comprehensive immigration reform can help his party overcome Latinos? resistance to the Republican brand, analysts say.

In response, Rubio has positioned himself as one of the lead Republicans on the issue. He probably had no choice.

?Usually you stay away from having a long vote record or taking on a serious initiative, because having a long vote record can be hazardous to your presidential health,? says Republican strategist Ford O?Connell. ?But Rubio recognized that if the Republican Party is to win the White House in 2016, it will need more than the white vote.?

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By being a point man among Republicans on the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators working the issue, Rubio has more control over how the issue plays out than he would have if he had stayed on the sidelines. He?ll be voting on legislation that he has helped craft ? even if he isn?t thrilled with every detail ? as opposed to voting on someone else?s bill.

But that high-profile perch comes with risks. See Rubio?s smiling face on the latest cover of the conservative National Review, with the headline ?Rubio?s Folly.? Inside the magazine, a major opponent of comprehensive immigration reform says that Rubio?s got it all wrong.

?Despite Rubio?s promise to have an enforcement system ?that ensures we?re never here again with the situation that we face today,? the Schumer-Rubio bill sets up a replay of the 1986 scenario,? when the last reform was enacted, writes Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, in a piece called ?The Rubio Amnesty.?

(Schumer is Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the lead Democrat in the Gang of Eight and, to many Republicans, a bogeyman. In an embarrassing aside for Mr. Krikorian, the liberal site Talking Points Memo points out that the National Review had airbrushed out two other conservatives on the cover, antitax activist Grover Norquist and Sen. Jeff Flake (R) of Arizona, a member of the Gang of Eight. Still in the picture are Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, also in the Gang of Eight, and Senator Schumer.)

Rubio published his own piece online Thursday night in The Wall Street Journal, defending the group?s effort. He called what exists now ?de facto amnesty for those who live here illegally,? and noted that the ?shortcomings? that have become apparent in the bill can still be addressed.

?For those who believe the road ahead for illegal immigrants is too generous or lenient, Congress will have a chance to make it tougher, yet still realistic,? Rubio writes.

?Of course, there are those who will never support immigration reform no matter what changes we make,? he adds. ?Even if we address every concern they raise, they will likely come up with new ones. They have a long list of complaints but typically never offer a solution of their own.?

The trick for the bill?s supporters, as with all legislation, is to find the sweet spot between left and right such that it can pass by a wide majority. Members of the Gang of Eight have said they want the final version to pass the Democratic-run Senate with at least 70 out of 100 votes, creating momentum when it goes to the Republican-controlled House.

If the bill dies, Rubio could wind up looking ineffective ? not great for a prospective presidential candidate, though he could still get credit for trying. But if the reform is enacted, and the conservative Republican base is unhappy, that could hurt Rubio?s chances in the Republican primaries.

Still, if the bill is enacted and Rubio wins the Republican nomination ? a big ?if,? depending on what happens ? having his name attached to the effort could help him in the general election.

It?s not just about winning over Latino voters, many of whom vote more on economic and safety-net issues than on immigration. It?s also about reaching moderate general-election voters, who may be convinced that Rubio has the chops to be president if he demonstrates an ability to work across the aisle and pass major legislation.

RECOMMENDED: Could you pass a US citizenship test?

Have the Kochs Already Bought the LA Times? (Powerlineblog)

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Friday, May 3, 2013

Sore thumbs? US text messaging declines

NEW YORK (AP) ? Americans are saying CUL8TR to text messaging, a wireless industry group says, as Internet-based applications such as Apple's Messages are starting to take over from what was once a cash cow for phone companies.

CTIA ? The Wireless Association says Americans sent 2.2 trillion text messages last year, down 5 percent from 2011. That's still 19 text messages per person per day.

Text messages vaulted into the mainstream in 2007, despite often costing 10 cents each. Costs came down quickly as phone companies started selling monthly "bundles" of texts. Now, many phone companies give text messaging away for free as part of a plan that mainly meters the amount of data used. That has helped stave off mass migration to Internet chat applications and Facebook messaging in the U.S., making the decline somewhat surprising, said Pamela Clark-Dickson, an analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media in Britain.

In countries where phone companies have kept the cost of text messaging high, the use of chat applications such as WhatsApp has exploded. Informa estimates that the number of messages sent through such services worldwide exceeded those sent by text last year.

The text message, or Short Message Service, was created in France and Germany in the 80s as part of the specification for the "GSM" digital cellphone standard. The first commercial services appeared in Europe in the 90s.

Clark-Dickson said text messaging will likely remain popular as a way to communicate with people who don't use chat applications. In addition, businesses have started using it as a way to communicate with customers.

"At this point, SMS has still got quite a lot going for it," Clark-Dickson said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-02-US-TEC-Text-Messaging/id-4995c5cda69a4c47bf086428ab3777a6

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Pakistan's lead prosecutor in Bhutto case killed

Troops of Pakistan's paramilitary force stand guard as Pakistan's former President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf arrives at the Anti-Terrorist Court under tight security in Rawalpindi, Pakistan Friday, April 26, 2013. Musharraf appeared in a case connected to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, a government prosecutor said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

FILE - In this April 20, 2013, file photo, Pakistan's former President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad, Pakistan. Gunmen shot to death the Pakistani government?s lead prosecutor in a high-profile case involving Musharraf on Friday, May 3, as he drove to court in the capital Islamabad, police said. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Gunmen killed Pakistan's lead prosecutor investigating the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto as he drove to court in the capital on Friday, throwing the case that also involves former ruler Pervez Musharraf into disarray.

Chaudhry Zulfikar was at the helm of a number of highly controversial cases, including the 2007 Bhutto assassination in which Musharraf is accused of involvement. He was also prosecuting militants linked to the 2008 terror attack in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Zulfikar was on his way to a court in Islamabad when gunmen fired at him from a taxi, hitting him in the head, shoulder and chest, said police officer Mohammed Ishaq. He was shot at least 13 times and his car was pockmarked with bullets and the windshield shattered.

Zulfikar then lost control of his car, which hit a woman passer-by and killed her, said another police officer, Mohammed Rafiq.

Zulfikar's guard, Farman Ali, returned fire and is believed to have wounded at least one of the attackers, Rafiq said. Ali also was injured in the attack.

Police official Yasin Farooq said the attackers fled after killing Zulfikar, and that a massive search has been launched to find them.

A motive for the killing was unclear, but Zulfikar's involvement in the two particularly high-profile cases will likely be scrutinized closely.

Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved in the Bhutto assassination and not providing enough security to Pakistan's first female prime minister. Musharraf, who was in power when was killed, has denied the allegations. At the time of the attack, he blamed the assassination on the Pakistani Taliban.

The Bhutto case has lingered for years in the Pakistani court system. A number of alleged assailants are on trial but no one has been convicted. The case burst into the headlines when Musharraf returned in March after four years in exile.

The prosecutor told reporters that he had received death threats recently in connection with the case but would not say who from or what they said.

Zulfikar was also the government's lead prosecutor in a case related to the 2008 terrorist attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. The attack was blamed on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Pakistan has put seven men on trial on charges they assisted in the Mumbai siege, but the trial has made little progress. India has criticized Pakistan for not doing more to crack down on the militants blamed for the attack. Hafiz Saeed, the head of a group believed to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, remains free, and many believe he enjoys the protection of the government. Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded years ago with the help of Pakistani intelligence to put pressure on India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan to make a political comeback despite Taliban death threats and a raft of legal cases against him. But his fortunes have gone from bad to worse since he arrived.

Judges barred him from running in the May 11 parliamentary election not long after he arrived because of his actions while in power. A court in the northwestern city of Peshawar went further this week and banned Musharraf from running for public office for the rest of his life ? a ruling the former military strongman plans to appeal.

Musharraf is currently under house arrest on the outskirts of Islamabad in connection with several cases against him, including the Bhutto case. He also faces allegations of treason before the Supreme Court.

Zulfikar was headed to a hearing related to Musharraf and the Bhutto case at a court in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, when he was killed, said Ishaq, the police officer.

Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 when he was serving as army chief and ruled for nearly a decade until he was forced to step down in 2008 because of growing discontent with his rule.

Though Pakistan has experienced repeated violence, it's rare for such an attack to happen in the capital, which is home to high-ranking government and military officials, diplomats and international aid workers.

Friday's killing comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which is preparing for nationwide elections on May 11. The vote will mark the first time that an elected civilian government has fulfilled its term and handed off power to another civilian government in the country.

Pakistan has experienced three coups, including the one led by Musharraf in 1999.

President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the prosecutor's killing and called for a thorough investigation.

Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-03-AS-Pakistan/id-90bb435258aa453ea74725d3cad3df5a

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?Creepy? homework references Ted Bundy, peeping Tom

May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/creepy-homework-ted-bundy-peeping-tom-143345112.html

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Bitcoin scam turns online gamers into unwitting accomplices

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 6 hrs.

It's a thoroughly 21st-century heist: An online gaming service secretly leveraged thousands of users' computers to acquire money in the form of online-only crypto-currency Bitcoin.

E-Sports Entertainment (ESEA) is an established gaming league that hosts tournaments in games such as "Team Fortress 2," "Counter-Strike" and "League of Legends." Players can compete for prizes and prestige, and as with any e-sport, must submit to running a piece of software provided by the ESEA that watches for cheating and other issues.

Earlier in the year, ESEA was experimenting with integrating Bitcoin "mining" with the software client ? meaning that the user could opt to have their machine work on the complex mathematical problems that produce the virtual currency that has been in the news so much recently.

The virtual currency is created at a set rate by its users, but takes a huge amount of computing power (if Bitcoins were easy to make, they wouldn't be worth much). Distributed networks of hundreds or thousands of computers are often made to work together, and ESEA though their client might be a good way to do that.

Ultimately, they decided not to implement it ? it was more trouble than it was worth ? but one employee appears to have decided to go ahead and do it in secret. As a result, the Bitcoin mining code ran for weeks on users' computers, running their powerful graphics cards at maximum (which can damage them) and causing crashes and other trouble.

The community was suspicious, and users examining the software closely found the hidden mining software. It was brought to the attention of an administrator, who at first said it had only run for a couple days ? but later amended this, saying it had run for weeks and mined about $3,700 worth of Bitcoins.

Higher-ups at the ESEA quickly caught wind of the story and issued a formal apology; the Bitcoins ? or their dollar equivalent ? will be donated to charity, and the ESEA will offer support to anyone whose computer was damaged.

As for the perpetrator, it's unclear what will happen: Such a serious breach of authority and trust may certainly result in dismissal, but it's possible that hacking charges could also be involved, since running unauthorized code like this could qualify as a crime. And it's not the first time that Bitcoins have been the object of nefarious acts.

The recent Bitcoin craze has garnered a lot attention for the heretofore-obscure online currency, the value of which has skyrocketed in recent months. New users, services, and applications are sprouting ? including a Bitcoin ATM.

You can learn more about Bitcoin, including how it works and why it's suddenly in the public eye, in our recent article on the topic.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2b72cbb7/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cbitcoin0Escam0Eturns0Eonline0Egamers0Eunwitting0Eaccomplices0E6C9743685/story01.htm

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Rap Genius Is Getting Into Breaking News Analysis With News Genius

The founders of lyric website Rap Genius revealed today that they're starting to move into annotating news content too, under the name News Genius. They were onstage at Disrupt NY, where they gave a surreal, joke-y interview without too much detail about what News Genius actually is. Co-founder Mahbod Moghadam mostly told the audience to follow the Twitter account and asked, "When is Obama getting a verified account?"

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/IL8gyjrY6OI/

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