Assad's forces seize Homs district from rebels: activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have pushed rebels from a district in Homs after several days of fierce fighting in the strategically important city, opposition activists said on Saturday.

The army moved into Deir Ba'alba, a neighborhood on the northeastern edge of Homs, they said, leaving the rebels controlling just the central neighborhoods around the old city and the district of Khalidiyah, immediately to the north.

Homs, in central Syria, was the scene earlier this year of some of the heaviest fighting in the 21-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad which has killed at least 45,000 people, according to activist tallies.

On the junction of roads linking Assad's power base in Damascus to the heartlands of his Alawite minority in the port city of Tartous and Latakia province, Homs has strategic value in his battle with the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels.

There were unconfirmed reports that dozens of fighters had been killed in the battle for Deir Ba'alba, the director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, said.

Rebels have been gaining ground in recent months, particularly in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, and launched an offensive in the central Hama province which would extend their control south towards Homs and Damascus.

But an activist in Hama province said on Saturday that the army had reinforced its positions in the town of Morek, which lies on the main north-south highway linking Damascus to Aleppo, to push back rebels who were running low on ammunition.

A rebel attack on the military base of Wadi Deif, further north on the same highway, had also slowed as rebels struggled to maintain supplies, the activist who used the name Ali al-Idlibi told Reuters by Skype.

He also said Assad's forces had bombarded the provincial town of Karnaz in Hama on Saturday, killing 10 people. Other activists said 12 people were wounded, with no fatalities. It is not possible to verify reports from Syria because authorities restrict media operations in the country.

Activists also said a Palestinian fighter who had been a prominent figure in the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was killed in Aleppo province on Friday.

Mohammed Qanita was killed in fighting around Aleppo airport where he had been helping to train Arab and Muslim fighters, a rebel said.

A Hamas source in Gaza said Qanita had left the Qassam Brigade of Hamas and joined a jihadi group before leaving for Syria to fight there.

The exiled leadership of Hamas was based in Damascus until earlier this year, when officials from the Sunni Islamist movement, which sympathises with the uprising against Assad, quietly pulled out.

(Reporting by Dominic Evans in Beirut and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/assads-forces-seize-homs-district-rebels-activists-123924499.html

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Reading Tea Leaves of Political Appointments Not Yet Made (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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OpEdNews - Article: Legal Issues in Self-Publishing: What Authors ...

Legai Issues in Book Publishing by bulgartien.um.dk

Self-publishing continues its exponential growth. More and more authors are choosing this route for presenting their work to the public, encouraged by impressive success stories, including accounts by bestselling writers who have moved over from traditional publishing to take advantage of greater profits and better control of their works.

But there is one domain that self-published authors rarely think about, which mainstream publishers have traditionally managed: legal issues.

If you self-publish, you are the publisher and thus assume all the legal responsibilities. At first this might seem frightening. But it doesn't have to be, as I discovered in my interview with Paul Rapp, an attorney who specializes in intellectual property rights in Monterey, Mass. and teaches Art & Entertainment Law and Copyright Law at Albany (N.Y.) Law School. He also discusses copyright issues in publishing on Vox Pop on Northeast Public Radio.

Rapp says he is working increasingly with self-publishers and self-published authors. He cited the prominent legal issues that authors should pay attention to: The use of images, quotes, and other materials from copyrighted works, the use of public domain works, the amount of a published works that can be quoted, portrayals of real people in fictional works, the standards for portraying famous and non-famous persons, portrayals of real people in non-fictional works, and the importance of copyright registration.

Starr: Isn't the provision of legal services an area where traditional publishing offers an edge to authors?

Rapp: The issues don't go away whether you are publishing traditionally or self-publishing. While the legal department of a publishing house may assess the legal issues in a work and advise, or demand changes if necessary, that doesn't release the author from responsibility. Every publishing agreement that I have ever seen has an indemnification clause in which the author agrees to hold the publisher harmless if there are claims against the publisher for any infringement or violation of personal rights. That being said, most publishers vet books before they go out and have insurance policies that cover most of these lawsuits; the insurers may also vet a manuscript prior to publication. But I think this is happening less and less, leaving the author exposed. And I'm seeing a lot of agreements that, particularly for non-fiction books, require the author, rather than the publisher, to get necessary permissions and licenses to use any third party material.

Starr: What advice do you have for self-publishing authors who have legal concerns?

Rapp: If authors have legal questions and want peace of mind they should get a legal opinion from an attorney. Because of the expansion of self-publishing there are an increasing number of lawyers who will assess legal issues in a book and tell you how to address the problems for a fairly nominal fee. For example, I just finished reading a book on branding. It took a couple of hours. Many lawyers will charge for how long it takes to read the book and prepare an "opinion of counsel" letter. Unless there is a huge systemic legal problem with the book, the letter should generally be one or two pages long. An opinion of counsel letter is a form of insurance; if an author is eventually found to have violated anyone's rights, an opinion of counsel letter can at least absolve the author of any claim of willfully violating those rights.

Starr: I have found that licensing fees are being charged that are not justified under copyright law for the use of public domain photos, artworks and other public domain works.

Rapp: Whether those demanding a fee for a public domain work believe it or not, they want you to believe they own a copyright that they don't own so they can exact a fee. Images or text in the public domain do not require permissions or licenses, period. And a mere photograph of a public domain work is itself in the public domain because there hasn't been anything significant added by the photographer to the original. And if an author receives a threatening letter about the use of a public domain work, it's because institutions know from experience that if they threaten, many people will pay up. Usually a brief letter from an attorney, or just ignoring the threat altogether if it's baldly frivolous, will be a proper response.

Starr: What about the use of quotes. Is there a limit to how many words you can quote? One editor told me that 300 words was the limit. Elsewhere I've read that it's related to the length of the work you are quoting from and the length of your book.

Rapp: There are no absolute rules like that and people always say there are. There is no fixed rule about the number of words. If the quote drives your narrative, or if you are commenting on the quote or its author, or using a quote to support an argument then it's most likely going to be a "fair use" of the quote, and therefore non-infringing. The publisher of the work you are quoting from may squawk, but it's highly unlikely that they are going to do anything about it. Some publishers have their own standards for how much an author can quote in a book they are publishing in order to somehow justify their own complaints about extensive quotes from their books in works put out by other publishers.

The one tricky area is when people use quotes that are just window dressing. Like when an author quotes the lyrics of a song -- even just couple of lines from a song at the beginning of a chapter, as Stephen King often does. Most music publishers take the position that you need permission because this kind of use, they claim, is not driving the narrative or otherwise a fair use. And they may be right -- the fair use doctrine is horribly imprecise. I've had authors ask me what to do. In those gray area cases, I suggest that they try to get permission. Often the licensing fee is fairly minimal -- although it depends on the song and the publisher.

I recently had an author who was putting out a self-published book that had a scene in a bar where a popular song was playing on the jukebox. He quoted the lyrics that were actually mirroring what was going on in the bar. It was really funny. And I said, that's fair use and you don't need permission because it's integral to the narrative of the work. The publisher might disagree but I say go ahead and use it.

Starr: If you don't get the permission and they come after you what will they demand?

?1 ?| ?2

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Legal-Issues-in-Self-Publi-by-Bernard-Starr-121227-11.html

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Facebook's Online Gambling Deal, Tech Business Review | Wall St ...

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has reached an online gambling agreement with 888 Holdings, an?online gaming operator?which is licensed in Gibraltar but listed in the United Kingdom. A statement reported that?888 says it will be next in line to introduce a portfolio of real-money gaming products on Facebook which will be aimed at adult British consumers, becoming?the second real-money gambling provider to make such an arrangement after Gamesys began distribution of a Facebook application via the FB App Center.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) ?launches a new pay-as-you-use networking equipment offer to communications service providers with the intention of helping to remove the capital expenditures burden from the CSPs and their enterprise customers while creating new business streams for itself.?Company executives concede that it?s a risky venture for the information tech vendor, but it is a calculated one, as the firm possesses assets that mitigate the risks?to some extent.

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In a Wednesday release, Synacor (NASDAQ:SYNC) and Lenovo announced the successful introduction of Lenovo?s startpage experience for consumers on Lenovo PCs.?The startpage enables consumers to access video,?games,?breaking news, social media and more, allowing the firm an opportunity to market and monetize that content and also to strengthen its customer relationships following the initial PC sale.

The memory chip provider Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) has backfilled its range of 45-nm phase-change memory which it says is shipping in ?high volume? to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), as reported by?EE Times. More specifically,?Micron has been shipping 45-nm 1-Gbit PCM multchip packages to Nokia for use in the their phones and is now sampling a 512-Mbit PCM plus 512-Mbit LPDDR2 MCP.

Don?t Miss: Does Amazon Sell Everything?

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'Commitment-phobic' adults could have mom and dad to blame

Dec. 10, 2012 ? Afraid to commit to a relationship? According to new research from Tel Aviv University, it could be just one more thing to blame on your parents.

A study of the romantic history of 58 adults aged 22-28 found that those who avoid committed romantic relationships are likely a product of unresponsive or over-intrusive parenting, says Dr. Sharon Dekel, a psychologist and researcher at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work.

Dr. Dekel and her fellow researcher, Prof. Barry Farber of Columbia University, found that 22.4 percent of study participants could be categorized as "avoidant" when it came to their relationships, demonstrating anxiety about intimacy, reluctance to commit to or share with their partner, or a belief that their partner was "clingy," for example. Overall, they reported less personal satisfaction in their relationships than participants who were determined to be secure in their relationships.

The goal of the study, published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, was to address the widespread research debate on "avoidant attachment" -- whether such behavior is due to innate personality traits, such as being more of a loner, or is a delayed reaction to unmet childhood needs. Dr. Dekel and Prof. Farber found that while both secure and avoidant individuals expressed a desire for intimacy in relationships, avoidant individuals are conflicted about this need due to the complicated parent-child dynamics they experienced when young.

Taking lessons from childhood

The premise of their study, says Dr. Dekel, is based on attachment theory, which posits that during times of stress, infants seek proximity to their caregivers for emotional support. However, if the parent is unresponsive or overly intrusive, the child learns to avoid their caregiver.

The researchers believe that adult relationships reflect these earlier experiences. When infantile needs are met in childhood, that person approaches adult relationships with more security, seeking intimacy, sharing, caring, and fun, says Dr. Dekel. The researchers labelled these relationships "two-adult" models, in which participants equally share desires with their partner. Avoidant individuals, however, are more likely to adopt an "infant-mother" intimacy model.

When they enter relationships, there is an attempt to satisfy their unmet childhood needs, Dr. Dekel explains. "Avoidant individuals are looking for somebody to validate them, accept them as they are, can consistently meet their needs and remain calm -- including not making a fuss about anything or getting caught up in their own personal issues."

The tendency to avoid dependence on a partner is a defense mechanism rather than an avoidance of intimacy, she adds.

Hope for the commitment-phobic?

It's important to study this group further because beyond their severely diminished ability to conduct satisfying romantic relationships, they are also less happy in their lives and are more likely to suffer illnesses than their secure counterparts, notes Dr. Dekel. Psychologists need a better understanding of what these insecure individuals need, perhaps through more sophisticated neurological studies, she suggests.

There is also the question of whether or not these attachment styles are permanent. Dr. Dekel believes that there are some experiences which can help people develop more secure relationship styles.

There are hints that after experiencing a traumatic event, survivors show a greater ability and desire to form closer relationships, Dr. Dekel observed in a previous study in the Journal of Psychological Trauma, completed during her post-doctoral work with Prof. Zahava Solomon. As an expert in the field of trauma recovery and post-traumatic growth who has worked with patients in Israel and abroad to overcome traumatic events, she is beginning to study this phenomenon in greater depth.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Sharon Dekel, Barry A. Farber. Models of Intimacy of Securely and Avoidantly Attached Young Adults. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2012; 200 (2): 156 DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182439702

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/top_news/top_health/~3/bRBvc2H3hvk/121210133509.htm

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