Twitter Shuts Down TweetDeck For Android, iPhone And AIR, Discontinues TweetDeck?s Facebook Integration

TweetDeck, the feature-rich Twitter client Twitter acquired in 2011, will soon mostly exist as a web-based service and the native Mac and Windows apps will play second fiddle to the web and Chrome apps. The company is shutting down the AIR-based version of TweetDeck for desktop and will remove the Android and iPhone apps from their respective mobile stores in May. In addition, the TweetDeck team announced today, it will also “discontinue support for our Facebook integration.” Tweetdeck will continue to support its native apps for Mac and Windows, but the clear focus will be on the web and Chrome apps, which, the team writes, will “provide the best TweetDeck experience yet.” The web-based apps will also be the first to get new features, “followed closely by [the] Mac and PC apps.” Given the clear focus on the web apps, it may just be a matter of time before the native apps will also get the ax. Twitter clearly remains committed to TweetDeck as a tool for power users and today’s announcement notes that the team doubled in size over the past six months. Most users already use TweetDeck on their desktops and Twitter on mobile. The current versions of TweetDeck for AIR, iPhone and Android still use version 1.0 of Twitter’s API, which is about to be retired over the next few weeks. The Facebook integration is only mentioned in one sentence in the announcement (“We?ll also discontinue support for our Facebook integration”), but we have asked Twitter for more details about this and will update this post once we hear more.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/sPtqun5AqQY/

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PFT: Free-agent Keller hasn't heard from Jets

AP

This week?s flurry of reports regarding quiet curiosity and not-so-quiet interrogation of incoming NFL players on the issue of sexuality represents an obvious symptom of a deeper problem.

Football teams, which notoriously fear the unknown in any shape or form, at best want to know whether there?s a chance that their locker room will be the first one to host an openly gay player.? At worst, one or more football teams possibly don?t want any gay players in the building, openly or closeted.

Although sexual orientation is not yet a protected class under federal law, multiple states shield employees who are gay or suspected to be gay from co-worker hostility or tangible job action (e.g., getting fired, not getting hired, or being passed over for a promotion).

The applicable laws have slightly less meaning in this context, because NFL policy expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Regardless of the laws or rules that would be broken, for the issue to be teed up in a court of law or in a grievance proceeding under the labor deal or anywhere else, someone has to complain.? The pool of potential plaintiffs consists not of people walking off the street and filling out an application but only of a relatively small group of individuals who already have worked their way through the lower levels of a similar locker-room mentality.

By the time the remaining 330 players or so are being questioned at the Scouting Combine, they?re each the product of the football machine.? And even if they?re troubled by questions about sexuality, what are they going to do about it?

They just want to play football, and to finally get paid for it.? If they?re not among the 256 or so who will get drafted, they?ll want to be among the 2,800 or so who will have a chance to win roster spots or practice-squad assignments after offseason workouts, training camp, and the preseason.

Besides, even if a player believes he has been blackballed based on his actual or perceived sexuality, how will he prove that the decision to cut him was influenced by anything other than his actual or perceived football skills, or lack thereof?? Evidence like inappropriate questions will help, but a player who doesn?t get a job ultimately will have to persuade a jury that he was better at football than someone who did.

The various factors add up to the reality that litigation, which has forced positive change over the past five decades in so many other workplaces, will likely never happen in the NFL.? (If you don?t think litigation effects change, you haven?t noticed the link between the NFL?s effort to protect current players from concussions and the 4,000 or so former players who claim the NFL didn?t do enough to protect them.)

Thus, for change to occur, it will need to come without the expense, annoyance, and worry caused by lawsuits.? And that will require, as Jason Whitlock of FOXSports.com argued earlier this week, real leadership from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

When it comes to the mentality and antics of the locker room, not enough credit is given to the ability of players to change on their own and/or the ability of teams to change them.? The players should be held to a higher standard of conduct and discourse in the locker room, and the teams should be expected to enforce it.

The fact that no gay player in any of the NFL?s 32 workplaces has felt sufficiently comfortable to declare his sexuality means that change hasn?t happened, yet.

Change has happened in countless other workplaces.? Thanks in large part to litigation.? Litigation the NFL most likely will never face on this issue.

The NFL also will likely never face a backlash from its customers for not creating an environment in which closeted gays will feel sufficiently comfortable to come out.? If anything (and based on plenty of the comments posted and emails and tweets we?ve received this week), a team that welcomes an openly gay player could alienate a significant percentage of its fan base.

Thus, the challenge for the league will be to change without a financial incentive to do so.? To change not because it?s the expedient thing to do, but because it?s the right thing to do.

Goodell often explains that his staunch willingness to stand on principle comes from his father?s willingness to sacrifice his position as a U.S. Senator in opposing the Vietnam War.

It?ll be interesting to see whether Goodell, who has been silent to date on the subject, is willing to take a stand on this topic, too.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/03/dustin-keller-hasnt-heard-from-jets-about-new-deal/related/

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Is Massachusetts more racist than Mississippi, as Chief Justice Roberts hints?

In deciding whether to strike down a portion of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court is focusing on whether the South has redeemed its racist history. Massachusetts, though, has a quibble with Chief Justice Roberts.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / March 2, 2013

Assistant Poll Manager Kim Abenatha helps voters line up at the Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain, Ga. on Election Day 2012.

Kent D. Johnson/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

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Massachusetts officials came out swinging this week after Chief Justice John Roberts argued in a hearing on the constitutionality of a part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Mississippi may be more sensitive to black voting rights than Massachusetts.

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That's important because Mississippi, often derided as a backwards backwater due to its ugly racial history, has to run any changes to its voting laws by the US Department of Justice, while Massachusetts, broadly seen as a paragon of the enlightened North, does not.

The argument cuts to the bone of what's in front of the Supreme Court in the case of Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder: Should the South continue to be punished for its past racism despite evidence that those days are gone, or is there another, broader imperative that Section 5 protections are necessary to guarantee the franchise for all Americans?

Section 5 requires that 9 states and many other jurisdictions, mostly in the South but also including parts of the Bronx, "pre-clear" voting law changes with the US Justice Department due to evidence of past disenfranchisement.

While Congress handily reauthorized the VRA in 2006 for another 25 years, conservative justices on the Supreme Court, including Chief Roberts, zeroed in this week on whether Section 5 has itself become discriminatory, since many indices suggest that blacks vote at equal or even higher rates than whites in the covered jurisdictions.

Justice Roberts pointed out as proof that Massachusetts, for example, has "the worst ratio of white voter turnout to African-American voter turnout."

Claiming Roberts is obfuscating US Census data, Massachusetts voting officials shot back.

"The concept of black communities in Massachusetts not voting is an old slur, and it?s not true,? Secretary of State William Galvin said. ?I guess the point [Roberts] is trying to make is Mississippi is doing so much better they don?t need the Voting Rights Act. He can still relay that conclusion, but he shouldn?t be using phony statistics. It?s deceptive, and it?s truly disturbing.?

As it is, Roberts is reading Census figures that partially support his contention, but he failed to include margins of error that could, also technically, put Massachusetts ahead of Mississippi when it comes to minority participation versus white. Also, officials noted, several other states have similar disparities as Massachusetts. At the same time, three Sec. 5 jurisdictions ? Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina ? today have higher proportions of blacks voting than whites.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NQNZ2FgzKNg/Is-Massachusetts-more-racist-than-Mississippi-as-Chief-Justice-Roberts-hints

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First documented case of child cured of HIV

Mar. 3, 2013 ? Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University today described the first documented case of a child being cured of HIV. The landmark findings were announced at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Persaud, an amfAR grantee, detailed the case of a two-year-old child in Mississippi diagnosed with HIV at birth and immediately put on antiretroviral therapy. At 18 months, the child ceased taking antiretrovirals and was lost to follow-up. When brought back into care at 23 months, despite being off treatment for five months, the child was found to have an undetectable viral load. A battery of subsequent highly sensitive tests confirmed the absence of HIV.

Confirmation of the cure was made possible by a grant the Foundation awarded to Dr. Persaud and Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga of the University of Massachusetts in September 2012. The grant allowed Drs. Persaud and Luzuriaga to establish a research collaboratory to explore and document possible pediatric HIV cure cases. The collaboratory includes renowned researchers Drs. Stephen Spector and Doug Richman at the University of California, San Diego; Dr. Frank Maldarelli at the National Cancer Institute; and Dr. Tae-Wook Chun at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"The child's pediatrician in Mississippi was aware of the work we were doing, and quickly notified our team as soon as this young patient's case came to her attention," said Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR vice president and director of research. "Because the collaboratory was already in place, the researchers were able to mobilize immediately and perform the tests necessary to determine if this was in fact a case of a child being cured."

According to Dr. Persaud, comprehensive tests have confirmed beyond doubt that both mother and child were HIV positive when the child was born, and today no signs of HIV infection in the child can be detected by the most sensitive means available.

The only other documented case of an HIV cure to date remains that of Timothy Brown, the so-called "Berlin patient." In 2006, while on treatment for HIV, Mr. Brown was diagnosed with leukemia. His physician was able to treat his leukemia with a stem-cell transplant from a person who was born with a genetic mutation causing immunity to HIV infection. Following the transplant, Mr. Brown was able to stop HIV treatment without experiencing a return of his HIV disease.

This new case points to the tantalizing possibility that different populations of HIV-positive people might be cured in different ways. While Mr. Brown's case was the outcome of a complex, high-risk, and expensive series of procedures, this new case appears to have been the direct result of a comparatively inexpensive course of antiretroviral therapy.

"Given that this cure appears to have been achieved by antiretroviral therapy alone," said Dr. Johnston, "it is also imperative that we learn more about a newborn's immune system, how it differs from an adult's, and what factors made it possible for the child to be cured."

The Mississippi case also underscores the importance of identifying HIV-positive pregnant women, expanding access to treatment regimens than can prevent mother-to-child transmission, and of immediately putting infants on antiretroviral therapy in the event that they are born HIV positive.

"We are proud to have played a leading role in bringing this first pediatric HIV cure to light," said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. "The case is a startling reminder that a cure for HIV could come in ways we never anticipated, and we hope this is the first of many children cured of HIV in the months and years to come."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

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

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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/~3/T7KjFVtM9pY/130303172640.htm

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Police: Drug buyer butt-dials 911, leading to arrest

An Oregon man was arrested on felony drug charges after accidentally dialing 911 just before a drug deal, allowing police to track down his location using the phone's GPS signal. KGW's Kyle Iboshi reports.

By Sofia Perpetua, Staff Writer, NBC News

Butt-dialing has led to many embarrassing situations, but police say that for one Oregon drug dealer, it could lead to jail.

Police in Molalla, a city near Portland, Ore., say they intercepted a phone call about a drug deal after one of the suspects?sat on her phone and accidentally dialed 911.?

Using the phone's GPS signal, officers were led to an alley just a block away from the police station.

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The two suspects denied having a cell phone, but the officer on scene spoke loudly and the emergency dispatcher confirmed that she could hear him over the phone, a recording of the 911 call shows. The police said they found methamphetamine when searching one of the suspects.

"This, I will say, is a first, and got a chuckle around the department," Molalla police spokesperson Aaron Christopherson told NBC News.

"Everybody had a good laugh, things are normally not that easy,"?said Sgt. Chris Long. "Unfortunately, Molalla has a drug problem. Methamphetamine and heroin are on the rise."?

Raleigh Reynolds, 25, was arrested on felony drug charges of possession and delivery. Dana Lucht, 25, was in possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and was summoned to appear in court, police said.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17148148-drug-buyer-butt-dials-911-police-say-leading-to-arrest-in-oregon?lite

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The Story of My Solipsism

Illustration by Danny Gregory

If you?re like me, you read the unabridged Pride and Prejudice in fifth grade, ate lunch in the library all through high school, and often fixate on the Purpose of Literature. If you?re like me, you?ll understand that a book titled The Story of My Purity (aka what I?ve been calling my teens and early 20s) brought up a few questions.

The Story of My Purity, translated from Italian by Stephen Twilley, is a novel narrated by Piero Rosini, a 33-year-old ?flabby? tragic antihero who is in a sexless marriage and has devoted his life to Jesus. He addresses an open audience, telling us he?s ?totally committed, in my own way, to becoming a saint?; and yet, he?s just like us, with the same quotidian troubles: ?Saints don?t ask their parents for loans ? But I wanted to change jobs. I absolutely had to change jobs.?

He works at Non Possumus, a ?far-right Catholic publishing house? that plays a ?distinct role in the internal debates of the Church ? Who else talks about the cultural power of the Jewish lobbies in Europe and America, their dechristianizing efforts?? It?s an anti-Semitic publishing house, but Rosini rationalizes, ?the times being what they are, you don?t turn up your nose at a chance to earn a living.? One time I worked as a makeup artist for child actors.

Non Possumus?s current project is a book purporting John Paul II was secretly Jewish, aptly titled The Jewish Pope. (Entertaining aside: Before The Jewish Pope, Non Possumus published The Book of Cocks, proving that ?producers had inserted nudity into children?s movies and cartoons in the form of photographs or drawings of breasts, vaginas, and penises, as new single frames or montaged existing ones.?) Non Possumus refuses to publish novels, an ungodly genre.

For the first half of the book, Rosini rattles off a litany of cultural toxins in descriptively baroque paragraphs?but not to warn readers against them or offer treatment, not to make any point other than to talk shit about dark times where entertainment and art take us away from accessing a deeper part of ourselves, hijacking our connection with God. There are long philosophizing passages?about the church, about cunts, about nature?that don?t enlighten so much as provoke. Our narrator says stuff like: ?Certainly, after 9/11 my world of ideas, of pleasure, of books, had collapsed a bit like the towers.?

I?m paraphrasing Mary Karr and David Foster Wallace when I say literature ought to be a service to a reader?s interior life. I read to feel, to be moved, to live a more engaged and aware life, to have an emotional response I don?t get from sitting at a computer eight hours a day. This is my hope in literature, that it will alter and improve the way I view and interact with the world, that it will in some sense rescue me.

?The truth can?t be found in novels!? Rosini says, explaining why he stopped reading them. As with most things Rosini says, I don?t agree.

The first ?turning point? in Rosini?s life is meeting Corrado, an aspiring novelist who pitches Rosini his novel about a gay couple that wants a traditional family. Rosini pontificates to Corrado how Italy is full of aspiring writers: ?I?ve seen so many ? illiterates who use too many ellipses ? You know that you shouldn?t ever use more than one question mark?? These meta-moments are the best?self-aware, funny, genuine.

Corrado introduces Rosini to Lavinia. One night at a bar, Lavinia places her legs on Rosini?s left thigh, at which point he throws his chaste thoughts out the window. When he talks about sex (not celibacy), both the narrator and prose come alive: ?When you start having sex you discover new lifestyles and forms of art, entire continents and alternative vocations, new ideologies and ways of falling asleep, breakfast menus, combinations of amusement and mystery.? Turning point No. 2.

Rosini doesn't know what he wants in life or out of life, and these ambiguities launch a familiar ennui and panic that drives him from Rome. Sans job and chasing Lavinia, he flees to Paris, where he interns at ?ditions du Bac and lives rent-free in the adjoining flat. His wife doesn?t follow, and yet they don?t divorce. It?s complicated. Ostensibly he?s avoiding the public outcry when The Jewish Pope is published.

Instead of working hard, he takes a lot of strolls in Paris, searching for Lavinia. (Spoiler: He never finds her?is this some post-modern technique or just sloppiness?)

In Paris books are no longer bullshit. ?Corrado?s novel had renewed my love of literature, Lavinia my love for the human species, prompting me to reread the stories that had formed me.? Novels are a slippery slope. One day he wakes up with an erection. Next he masturbates. He explores Internet porn. One evening he meets ?a quartet of female bourgeois bohemians? tripping on MDMA who change his life. Again. He tells them his name is Chewbacca as he thinks of himself as ?an enormous, hirsute Cinderella, a listless, sweaty insect.? With them he gets drunk and smokes hash and forgets his wife.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=50c5f88c8ae6b5ad767932bc2fc703f3

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London zoo to create map of city's cats

LONDON (AP) ? The London zoo is taking stock of an animal you don't often find behind bars, launching what it says is the first interactive map of the British capital's domestic cats.

The zoo said Friday that its interface would allow Londoners to upload scientific survey-style photos, descriptions, and locations of their cats ? creating a capital-wide census of the city's felines.

The map may not ultimately have much in the way of scientific value, but it could prove popular among Britain's cat owners.

Even ahead of its official launch, the site was filling up with dozens of felines, along with tongue-in-cheek field notes.

Among the early entrants was Ollie, a ginger cat from north London who "likes fish and octopus toy (but) dislikes biscuits." Another was Dorothy, a black tabby from south London who "has intimacy issues."

Quality control doesn't appear to be a strong suit of the site. At least one person uploaded a picture of a "Nyancat," the name given by Internet pranksters to an animated, space-dwelling cat with the body of a Pop-Tart.

But the other listings appeared legitimate and the map was already yielding its first figures. Nearly half of Britain's domestic cats are black or gray, according to the map, and roughly one-sixth are ginger or rust-colored.

Officials with the Zoological Society of London said they were launching the map to mark the arrival of two Sumatran tigers ? Jae Jae and Melati ? at the zoo.

They add that while the map is aimed at Londoners, cat fans from outside the city ? even outside the country ? can also upload their pets' photos to the system.

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Online:

Cat map: http://zsl.org/CatMap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/london-zoo-create-map-citys-cats-000247404.html

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