Source: illinoisreview.typepad.com --- Saturday, August 03, 2013
Wealthy gay activist, Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, says he and his civil partner Tony will go to court to force churches to host gay weddings. He told the Essex Chronicle that he will take legal action because ?I am still not getting... ...
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REUTERS
Locals read newspapers in Mbare township, outside Harare. Robert Mugabe, was declared winner of Zimbabwe's election on Saturday, but his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, said he would challenge in court a result he called a fraud that would push the nation back into crisis.
Harare - President Jacob Zuma on Sunday congratulated Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe on his re-election, in sharp contrast to Western governments which questioned the credibility of a rushed, disputed vote.
African monitors broadly approved the conduct of the election but Mugabe's main rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has said he will challenge the results in court with evidence of massive vote-rigging, irregularities and intimidation.
The sharply divergent views of Wednesday's vote surfaced after Zimbabwe's election officials declared a landslide win for Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, giving Africa's oldest president five more years at the helm of a nation he has ruled for 33.
The standoff raises some fears the southern African nation risks repeating the turmoil that followed another contested vote in 2008. Election violence then forced Zimbabwe's neighbours to broker a shaky unity government between ZANU-PF and the MDC.
But Sunday's ?profound congratulations? extended to Mugabe by Zuma, leader of Africa's economic powerhouse, reflected a willingness by the continent's diplomatic bodies to swallow the re-election of Mugabe, 89, for the sake of regional stability.
Mugabe, one of the grand old men of southern Africa's liberation fight that ended white minority rule, is admired as a defiant nationalist by some Africans, though others share the West's view of him as a ruthless despot who wrecked Zimbabwe.
?President Zuma urges all political parties in Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the elections, as election observers reported it to be an expression of the will of the people,? the South African leader said in his statement.
Zimbabwe's capital Harare was calm on Sunday, with many residents going to church. Newspaper billboards proclaimed ?ZANU-PF gloats over victory?, ?Mugabe romps to victory? and ?Tsvangirai disputes election results?.
Western observers were barred from Wednesday's elections.
Monitors from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) who observed them made a point of stressing that they were peaceful, in contrast to the violence of 2008 polls, and also endorsed them as broadly free.
In contrast, the United States and European governments, which have sanctions in place against Mugabe over past election-rigging, listed a litany of alleged flaws in the vote, from lack of availability of the voters' roll to pro-Mugabe bias in the media and security services that skewed the election run-up.
In Zimbabwe, independent domestic monitors had described the election as ?seriously compromised? by registration problems that may have disenfranchised up to a million people.
Anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness, citing links between mining companies, ZANU-PF insiders and Zimbabwe's pro-Mugabe military, has also alleged that state diamond revenues may have been spent on securing the Mugabe re-election.
ZANU-PF has angrily rejected all vote-rigging allegations.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spelled out Washington's distrust of the result in no uncertain terms.
?Make no mistake: in light of substantial electoral irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe that the results announced ... represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people,? he said in a strongly worded statement on Saturday.
Former colonial power Britain expressed ?grave concerns?. Foreign Secretary William Hague said the reported irregularities ?call into serious question the credibility of the election?.
The 28-nation European Union has also pointed to ?identified weaknesses in the electoral process and a lack of transparency,? completing a picture of general Western scepticism.
It remained to be seen how energetically the West, with little public appetite at home for overseas interventions and facing muscular Chinese trade and investment rivaly in Africa, would press its questioning against the apparent African endorsement of the vote as imperfect but acceptable.
China is already a significant investor in Zimbabwe, which has rich reserves of chromium, platinum, coal and diamonds.
Mugabe had defiantly ignored a request by SADC in June to delay the election beyond July 31 to allow more time for steps to create a ?conducive environment? for a free and fair vote.
At issue now will be the future of the Western sanctions against Mugabe and Zimbabwe, where the economy is still struggling to recover from a decade of slump and hyperinflation that ended in 2009 when the Zimbabwe dollar was scrapped.
Trevor Maisiri, senior analyst for southern Africa of the International Crisis Group, said the priority of the African Union and its regional satellites like SADC was avoiding conflict and civil strife. This often took preference over technical perfection in electoral processes.
?I don't think there is going to be any major social unrest. Some people are disappointed but they have already gone back to their lives,? he told Reuters by telephone in Harare.
The MDC, facing political annihilation after its third failure to oust Mugabe through the ballot box, has said it could consider challenging Mugabe's win through street protests.
But this could trigger a crackdown from pro-Mugabe security services, militias and supporters. In the 2008 electoral violence, 200 MDC followers were killed in such a crackdown.
In Harare, after the tense, rushed weeks of electioneering, many seemed anxious to get on with their daily lives.
?The elections have come and gone, and people have different opinions about the outcome but we still need to pray for our welfare, for national peace,? said one woman as she went into a service at the main Anglican Cathedral in the city.
?Politics is important, but it's not everything,? she added, declining to give her name. - Reuters
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/africa-west-at-odds-over-mugabe-s-win-1.1557241
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By 1926, Ford was starting to see sales of its Model T fall off, as consumers embraced faster and more stylish offerings from competing brands. Though noticeably below 1923?s peak of more than two million units sold, 1926 would still see more than 1.5 million Model Ts leave Ford dealerships with new owners. Of the variants available, the most popular was the Touring model, like this 1926 Ford Model T Touring for sale on Hemmings.com. This particular example is equipped with a number of mechanical upgrades from the later Ford Model A, and the addition of rear disc brakes means that this car is more of a driver than an investment vehicle, but the upgrades will likely make the learning curve involved in owning an antique automobile less steep. From the seller?s description:
Has a Model A crankshaft. Drilled for pressure. Oil, rods and mains inserts in the mains. Model A rods, Egge Pistons, aluminum head, down draft, 97 carburetor with headers. Two speed Rasco rearend. 3:1 gears. Disc brakes on rear. This engine has been driven for 10,000 miles virtually trouble free. Electronic ignition. Stites 280 cam in engine.
Find more Ford Model Ts for sale on Hemmings.com.
Source: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/08/04/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1926-ford-model-t-touring/
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The man in charge of North Island College?s Port Alberni campus for almost nine years is leaving to become the president of a college in Northern Saskatchewan.
Campus director Tom Weegar will leave Port Alberni in November to become the new president of Nipawin-based Cumberland College. The position is a promotion as he will be running the entire college which has four campuses.
Weegar has deep roots on Vancouver Island, having grown up in Courtenay. His parents and siblings all live in Victoria, his wife is from Parksville and their son, Thompson, 15, is a local track and field athlete. Weegar is also the president of Literacy Alberni, a Rotarian, a youth soccer coach and referee and has worked with the local chamber of commerce.
?It?s going to be very difficult to leave all that,? Weegar said. ?My experiences in this community have been fabulous and my family really enjoyed living in Port Alberni.
?I enjoyed working with all the different groups in Port Alberni.?
Weegar has a bachelor?s degree in psychology from UVic and a masters degree in environmental studies from York University.
He taught at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and Northwest Community College before moving into an administrative position at Northwest.
He moved on to Northern Lights College and Rainy River Community College in Minnesota, before coming to Port Alberni in March 2005.
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From / 3
Weegar has a specialization in Native studies and played a part in developing a number of programs involving local First Nations. He spoke proudly of the Bridge to Success program, a partnership with the Tseshaht First Nation to train and provide education upgrades to those interested in working at the mill.
?It makes them more employable with the mills,? Weegar said about the program.
?It?s a bridge to the mill from one side of the river to the other.?
He also put together the construction labour program, which is geared to learners with head injuries and those with fetal alcohol syndrome.
As for the future, Weegar said he?s focused on starting his new position and becoming part of the community that he will soon live in. A return to B.C. is possible.
?I?m going to see where it takes me,? Weegar said, regarding his work. ?B.C. is closer to the relatives but at this time, the focus is on Cumberland College.?
reporter@albernivalleynews.com
Source: http://www.albernivalleynews.com/news/218175622.html
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Curtis Stevens may have stepped up for a fight with Gennady Golovkin tonight, as he waxed Saul Roman in the first round on NBC Sports.
It was a matchup of punchers in the middleweight division, and it closed out the night well on NBC Sports, as Curtis Stevens tore through Saul Roman with ease, knocking him out on a left hook in the first round.
Stevens (25-3, 18 KO) stormed Roman (37-10, 31 KO) right away, hurting him with bombs coming from both hands. As Roman gamely held his ground as best he could, he opened up with a right hand, and Stevens flattened him with a counter left hook. Roman made it back to his feet to fight on, but all he could really do was hold or wing it.
Roman chose to wing it, and the next time he loaded up a right, he found himself flat on his back, victim again to a left hook that crushed his jaw, snapped his head around, and ended the fight immediately.
After the fight, Stevens called his own replays with sound effects and other such flair, and said of the knockout blow that that's exactly how he would catch and stop Gennady Golovkin, too. Golovkin vs Stevens is a floating rumor for November on HBO, when Golovkin is due back to defend his WBA title. If that fight happens, at least we can say that Stevens has a real puncher's chance -- the guy can thump, and he fights fearlessly.
Given the likely options, do you think Stevens is the right opponent for Golovkin in November, and would you give him any chance at the upset?
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Can we all agree that rooting a phone is not for everyone? That's kind of important, because these days, Android actually is a platform for most people.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/i-dont-want-to-just-root-it-1001604524
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The Huron-Superior Catholic District School board isn't yet ready to choose a contractor to build its new high school, but officials say the project is still on track.
Tenders were opened Wednesday and the school board had sent out notice of a possible Thursday special meeting to approve a contractor.
The meeting won't happen now until likely late August or early September as the board finalizes details with a winning bidder, but John Stadnyk, director of education, said he doesn't see this pushing back its schedule. He said the board has been able to continue with preparations at the hilltop site off Second Line East where a new St. Mary's College is slated to open in September, 2015.
?I think we're in pretty good shape,? said Stadnyk, reached Thursday.
He said five tenders were received during the six-week tender period and are being reviewed by the board's project team.
?The next step in the process will be to finalize negotiations with the successful bidder so a contract can be awarded as quickly as possible,? Stadnyk said.
The final price will be presented to the Ministry of Education and trustees before being approved.
The board held a ceremonial ground-breaking at the site of the $47-million project in May.
The new school, approved as part of the provincial government's 2011 budget will replace St. Mary's College, St. Basil secondary school and Holy Angels learning centre.
?I met with the team (Thursday) and we don't feel this will set us back,? said Stadnyk.
Design details revealed by the board so far indicate the new school's focal point will be a commons area stretching 40-feet high, and providing "breathtaking views" visible from all three levels of the school. Students will also have access to key areas, such as the library, cafeteria, gymnasium and auditorium.
The school will feature a new 500-seat Theatre SMC and a centrally-located cafeteria that can be expanded for events open to the general public.
Outside, a sports complex will include a playing field for football and soccer, a six-lane track, second practice field and various training centres for field events.
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(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp
Shares of Chesapeake rose 4 percent to $24.26 in premarket trading.
Chesapeake, the second largest U.S. producer of natural gas, said oil production in the quarter rose 44 percent to 116,000 barrels per day (bpd). It raised its crude output forecast for the full year.
Analysts at Bernstein Research had estimated Chesapeake's oil production at 105,000 bpd in the quarter.
Second-quarter profit at the Oklahoma City-based company fell to $457 million, or 66 cents per share, from $929 million, or $1.29 per share, a year earlier.
But adjusting for one-time items, Chesapeake had a profit of 51 cents per share. Analysts, on average, expected 41 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
This is the first quarter that Chesapeake has reported earnings under Chief Executive Doug Lawler, who was named to replace former CEO Aubrey McClendon in May.
(Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Jeffrey Benkoe)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chesapeake-energy-quarterly-profit-lower-111604757.html
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By Mike Clark Post-Tribune correspondent July 31, 2013 7:36PM
Indiana's Larry Crisler hits a double against Illinois during the bottom of the fourth inning of the Crossroads Championship Series held at the Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., Wednesday, July 31, 2013. The series is organized by former Gary RailCats player Eric Blakeley. | Guy Rhodes~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 31, 2013 11:20PM
GARY ? Summertime is anything but vacation time for Larry Crisler, especially this week.
The incoming senior at Bishop Noll led one team to a championship on Wednesday and is hoping to repeat the feat this week in Ohio.
Crlsler helped Team Indiana defend its Crossroads Championship Series title with a 6-2 win over Team Illinois at U.S. Steel Yard.
After posing for a few pictures around the Crossroads trophy, Crisler was ready to hit the road. He and his Indiana Chiefs of Hammond 17-and-under teammates open play Thursday morning in the Pastime Tournaments 17U Mizuno World Series at Ohio State in Columbus.
?It was just pretty fun, a break from the regular summer team,? Crisler said of the Crossroads event, which featured a skills competition, a showcase for college coaches and a four-team tournament that also included teams from Ohio and Michigan.
Crisler only had two at-bats in Wednesday?s eight-inning championship game because Indiana coaches used a 15-man lineup to showcase as many players as possible.
But he made the most of his chances, slugging a pair of doubles. He scored two runs and drove in two more in the seventh, when Indiana put up four runs to break a 2-2 tie.
?It gives me confidence, seeing how I?m going to Ohio today, playing tomorrow (in the World Series),? he said.
Crisler also helped his cause during the showcase; according to Crossroads founder Eric Blakeley, Portage?s Christopher Klenk and Crisler had the two best 60-yard dash times among all the players on hand.
That should boost Crisler?s recruiting stock.
?I?m listening to people right now,? he said. ?I?m pretty excited about that, wondering what schools are going to offer.?
Klenk was 1-for-2 for Indiana on Wednesday, while Portage teammate Kevin Jones saw action on the mound.
Like Crisler, Blakeley came away from the event with a good feeling.
?I?m happy with it,? Blakeley said. ?We did some things ... to kind of tighten up the nomination process. We had a lot more nominations (for players for the state events) this year than last year. ...
?Our events are as good as the hundred coaches out there playing games and scouting players to bring to the event.?
Having the finale at the Steel Yard, where Blakeley finished his playing career with the RailCats, is something he?d like to continue.
?I love this place,? he said. ?This was one of the best baseball experiences I?ve had, to play out my career here. I love coming back here to allow the local kids to be able to come here and bring in people from four states to see what they have here.?
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La franchise estim?e ? 100 millions de dollars ?Dragons of Atlantis? apporte le Monde d?Atlantis et la Fureur des Dragons sur mobiles pour une toute nouvelle exp?rience de jeu.
Kabam, le leader en Occident des jeux free-to-play, sort aujourd?hui Dragons of Atlantis : Les H?ritiers du Dragon sur iPhone, iPad et iPod Touch, et pr?voit une sortie sous Android rapidement sur Google Play. Bas? sur son hit mondial, Dragons of Atlantis et disponible en ligne, Dragons of Atlantis : Les H?ritiers du Dragon est un tout nouveau titre de la franchise, enti?rement con?u pour les mobiles.
? Dragons of Atlantis est une des plus grosses franchises de Kabam, g?n?rant plus de 100 millions de dollars de revenus en moins de trois ans ?, selon Andrew Sheppard, pr?sident des Studios Kabam.
Dragons of Atlantis : Les H?ritiers du Dragon est le premier jeu sur mobile permettant aux joueurs de dresser leur propre arm?e pour reconstruire la gloire d?Atlantis. Un myst?rieux charme attire les peuples vers cette terre mystique pour aider la majest? des Dragons ? se d?fendre d?attaques ennemies venant de viles barbares. Le temps est venu de trouver le h?ros qui fera rena?tre la cit? de ses ruines et qui trouvera la sagesse perdue des Anciens. B?tissez votre arm?e et dresser vos Dragons que vous d?ploierez sur le champ de bataille pour sauver Atlantis.
About Kabam
Kabam is the leader in the western world for free-to-play core games with first and third party published titles available on mobile devices via the Apple Store, Google Play, and on the Web via Facebook, Yahoo, Kabam.com and other platforms. In 2012 Kabam revenues grew by 70 percent to more than $180 million. The company is profitable and has seven titles that gross more than $1 million per month. Kabam?s Kingdoms of Camelot franchise has grossed more than $200 million in less than four years, making it one of the top 10 strategy franchises of all time. In 2012, Kabam Publishing was launched to provide third-party developers access to Kabam?s technology platform, distribution channels, data analytics and best practices that Kabam?s in-house development teams use to bring wildly successful games to players worldwide. Kabam has approximately 700 employees across three continents, with corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The company's investors include Google, Warner Brothers, MGM, Intel, Canaan Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures and others. More information about Kabam can be found at www.kabam.com.
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Voir la discussion sur le forumSource: http://www.pockett.net/news.php?id=18512
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13 hours ago
The Guardian via Getty Images
Edward Snowden alluded to XKeyscore in a June interview.
Americans' email and online chats can be monitored without authorization by any National Security Agency analyst using a computer program known as "XKeyscore," according to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who shared the information with the Guardian in a story published Wednesday.
XKeyscore is described by the NSA in training materials as its "widest reaching" means of gathering information from the Internet, according to the Guardian. Using the program, "analysts can also search by name, telephone number, IP address, keywords, the language in which the Internet activity was conducted or the type of browser used."
NSA analysts "can also use XKeyscore and other NSA systems to obtain ongoing 'real-time' interception of an individual's Internet activity," the Guardian said.
The NSA documents contend that by the year 2008, 300 terrorists had been captured using information gathered with XKeyscore, the newspaper said.
At a press briefing Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that "some of the claims made in that article are false."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., released a joint statement saying "The latest in the parade of classified leaks published today is without context and provides a completely inaccurate picture of the program."
XKeyscore, they said, "does not target American citizens. Further, the program referenced in the story is not used for indiscriminate monitoring of the Internet, as many falsely believe. Rather, the program is simply a tool used by our intelligence analysts to better understand foreign intelligence, including terrorist targets overseas."
Snowden referenced XKeyscore, although not by name, in June, when his first interviews with the British newspaper were published. In a Guardian video interview, Snowden said, "I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the president if I had a personal email."
Nor is this the first public mention of XKeyscore. Earlier this month, German intelligence agencies said the NSA gave them XKeyscore to use, according to documents seen by Der Spiegel reporters, with the program meant to "expand their ability to support NSA as we jointly prosecute CT [counter-terrorism] targets."
XKeyscore was also described earlier this year in "Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry," a book by Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady published earlier this year.
"At Fort Meade, a program called XKeyscore processes all signals before they are shunted off to various 'production lines' that deal with specific issues," the authors wrote.
David Brown, who wrote "Deep State" using D.B. Grady as a pen name, told NBC News that what is "surprising everybody" with the XKeyscore information is "just how easily low-level analysts can access the data. The impediments that are supposed to be there really aren't."
"I like to think of it as plumbing," he said. "The pipes come in through XKeyscore, which then diverts the data through different channels, because there's just an awful lot of data."
Another NSA tool, called DNI Presenter, the Guardian said, lets an analyst who uses XKeyscore "read the content of Facebook chats or private messages," as well as the content of stored emails. Facebook declined to comment to NBC News about the report.
The amount of information gathered using XKeyscore is "staggeringly large," the newspaper said. "One NSA report from 2007 estimated that there were 850 billion 'call events' collected and stored in the NSA databases, and close to 150 billion Internet records. Each day, the document says, 1-2b billion records were added."
The Guardian said the XKeyscore training materials shared by Snowden show how easy it is for analysts to use it "and other systems to mine enormous agency databases by filling in a simple on-screen form giving only a broad justification for the search. The request is not reviewed by a court or any NSA personnel before it is processed."
If that claim is true, it may conflict with U.S. legal requirements for performing digital surveillance of Americans, that the NSA obtain a warrant first from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court.
"As we've explained, and the intelligence community has explained, allegations of widespread, unchecked analyst access to NSA collection data are false," said White House spokesman Carney.
"Access to all of NSA's analytic tools is limited to only those personnel who require access for their assigned tasks," he continued. "And there are multiple technical, manual and supervisory checks and balances within the system to prevent those who don't have access from achieving that access."
'Straightforward answers'
The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday held a hearing on the oversight of FISA surveillance programs, which may have something to do with the timing of the Guardian's story. Also underway Wednesday was the annual Black Hat hackers' conference in Las Vegas, where Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the NSA, spoke to a somewhat hostile crowd.
"The assumption is that people are out there just wheeling and dealing, and nothing could be further from the truth," he said in a speech there Wednesday. "We have tremendous oversight in these programs ? You know that we can audit the actions of our people 100 percent in this case, and we do that."
Congressmen Rogers and Ruppersberger echoed Alexander's remarks, saying the Guardian story "also once again ignores the legal constraints, comprehensive training, and layers of oversight built into all NSA programs. Every search on the program by an NSA analyst is fully auditable to ensure it is done within the law."
But at the Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and chairman of the committee said, "We need straightforward answers. I'm concerned we're not getting them.
"I think the patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin, but what has to be of more concern in a democracy is the trust of the American people is wearing thin."
Also on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released declassified documents relating to the government?s collection of Americans' telephone data, one of the first disclosures by Snowden in June.
Jameel Jaffer, the American Civil Liberties Union's deputy legal director, said in a statement that the Guardian's "latest revelations make clear that the government's surveillance activities are far more extensive and intrusive than previously understood, and they underscore that the surveillance laws are in desperate need of reform."
Meanwhile, Snowden remains in Russia, where he has spent more than a month in the transit zone of Moscow?s Sheremetyevo airport, as he seeks temporary asylum there.
NBC News' Frank Thorp and correspondent Yannick LeJacq contributed to this story.
This story was updated at 6:25 p.m. ET Wednesday.
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Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marines-519113-5th-base.html
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HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The main challenger to Zimbabwe's longtime president, Robert Mugabe, said Thursday the election is "null and void" due to alleged violations in the voting process, but Mugabe has denied vote rigging.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Wednesday's election was heavily manipulated and did not meet regional or African election standards. A poll monitoring group that is not affiliated with the state also said the poll was compromised by a campaign to stop voters from casting ballots.
Mugabe has denied allegations of vote-rigging as a smear campaign by opponents. Final results are expected by Monday.
The elections posed one of the biggest challenges to Mugabe's 33-year grip on power on this former British colony in southeast Africa.
"The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis," Tsvangirai warned.
The head of African Union observer mission, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said late Wednesday that reports of irregularities "will be investigated but have not yet been substantiated."
Mugabe's party said Thursday it has withdrawn an unauthorized message on its Twitter feed claiming a resounding victory. The ZANU-PF party said it is awaiting the release of results by the state election commission, the only body allowed under the law to announce the outcome of massive voting on Wednesday.
Solomon Zwana, head of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, said Thursday it has found a "wide range of problems" in the election and that the poll was compromised by a campaign to stop voters from casting ballots. The monitoring group says as many as 1 million out of more than 6 million eligible voters were not on voters' lists.
Zimbabweans voted in large numbers Wednesday in an election that was peaceful compared to disputed and violent polls in 2008. Thousands of voters lined up in Harare's populous Mbare township but by Wednesday evening all the voters had been accommodated, said polling officials. "It's a tremendous turnout," said Magodelyo Yeukai, Mbare presiding officer.
Polling officials and party agents brought blankets to polling stations so that they could sleep next to the polling boxes to make sure they were not tampered with.
Mugabe, 89, has said he would step down if he loses.
Zimbabwe's shaky government was effectively dissolved on Wednesday. Mugabe and Tsvangirai have each predicted outright victory that would avoid the formation of another coalition.
Half the population of 12.9 million was eligible to vote. The state election body has said administrative, logistical and funding problems hindered voting arrangements, but said the problems have been fixed at the more than 9,000 polling stations nationwide.
Previous elections in 2002 and 2008 were marred by allegations of vote-rigging and political violence. Rights groups say there has been little overt violence this time but noted deep concerns over voters' lists, the role of Mugabe's loyalist police and military in the voting process and bias in the dominant state media and the sole national broadcaster controlled by Mugabe loyalists.
The International Crisis Group, a research organization, said it fears a return to a protracted political crisis and possibly extensive violence if the Zimbabwe poll is inconclusive and disputed.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/01/3535635/zimbabwe-presidents-party-withdraws.html
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The Andrew Bynum experience was enough for one Greg Oden fan to realize that the injury risks far outweighs the benefits to signing him.
Greg Oden is about to sign a contract with the intention of playing basketball this season. It feels like we've been riding a roller coaster straight up for the past four years, only there's no telling whether there's an actual ride at the top of this thing or just a really built-up fall to our deaths.
I had planned on laying out a well-constructed-and-rife-with-metaphor-but-mostly-one-sided argument on why Greg Oden is the best player in the universe and should garner a max contract from 29 teams (excluding Portland) and also father my children. This was going to be my Holden Caulfield. This was going to be perfect.
But in doing my research for this piece, I came across something I wrote in 2011 titled "Why the Sixers and Everyone Else Should Want Greg Oden." I jumped down readers' throats in support of the tremendously talented but undervalued and injured 23-year-old.
At the time, I thought that while Oden was certainly a risk, the alternative was equally risky and had the potential to be far more depressing. Where championships are concerned, the good teams take those risks. I thought then that if the Sixers weren't one of those good teams, we'd be watching a healthy Greg Oden leading someone else to the promised land for what the Sixers will inevitably be paying a sixth man.
Since that was written, I've graduated college, moved across the country, worked at three different jobs, lived in three different apartments, moved in with my girlfriend, watched her move out, developed a pretty stellar shoe game, made friends, lost friends and did something athletic at least a few times a week.
Greg Oden, for all intents and purposes, hasn't moved. And I was about to write that exact article again.
Four years is a long time. Despite starting at Ohio State the same year, Mike Conley has played in 363 more professional basketball games. Apropos of nothing, the similarly built and dissimilarly disappointing Kwame Brown has stumbled through 168 more games.
This is all to say that the odds are stacked against him. Not since the short-lived Pamela Anderson TV series "Stacked" have odds been more stacked against anyone.
It just didn't occur to me until last week to change my opinion on Oden. I've raised the banners for him for so long that it became part of who I am, at least the basketball bits of me. But over four years, circumstances change and perspectives change. Mine came in the form of another mercurial seven-foot big man: Andrew Bynum.
Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Andrew Bynum trade was a calculated and necessary risk by the Sixers that did not pay off. Mediocrity is quicksand and trading for Bynum was going to get them out of it one way or the other. As we know, The Other won out, and the Sixers watched Bynum walk away with nothing but two unfortunate years of Jason Richardson and a steep hair salon bill to show for it.
For a year, Sixers fans waited breathlessly for Bynum to play. A legitimate big man that would save the franchise from quick playoff exits and starter's minutes for Spencer Hawes. Salvation.
But after playing in 60 of 66 games with the Lakers the previous season, Bynum injured his knee before he ever suited up for Philly, then busted his other one during rehab. "Chronic" hung in the air around the Wachovia Center longer than the last time Phish came to town. He played as many games for the Sixers as I did. This is not his fault; it's just what it is.
Bynum has arthritis. He will never be the same player he was before. He may not play again, or he may cobble together a few games here and there until he retires when the pain in his knees is too great. There's simply no cartilage there to withstand the physical exertion that comes with being an NBA big man. Doctors don't have the ability to re-grow cartilage. It's gone. The only time he played 5-on-5, his knees swelled up so badly that he couldn't walk. That shut the door on the hope that Bynum would ever play a game for the Sixers. Not one game.
I know this because I watched it all unfold over the last 12 months. But I didn't think that was the case with Oden. Not being there, I didn't realize that the words I was using to reflect my pessimism over Bynum ever playing at a high level were the same ones being used for Oden.
Ben Golliver, now of Sports Illustrated and Blazer's Edge, formerly of CBS Sports, has been around Greg almost his whole career. His Close The Book column on Portland and Oden hauntingly mirrors the Sixers situation with Bynum.
Blazers fans these days are an emotionally exhausted house divided. Many understand the logic and thought process that went into the pick. But many others responded to Buchanan's "I would still draft Greg" quote on Monday night by calling for his job. Some can't get past the Greg Oden and Sam Bowie comparisons. And others, even in notoriously polite Portland, have gone as far as to boo Oden when he is shown on the jumbotron at the Rose Garden.
I have to side with the cautious majority I looked upon with disdain for so long. Oden's just not worth the risk.
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
I still agree with myself from two years ago in that the great teams take the risks to break through mediocrity's glass ceiling. But risk is a sliding scale. Boston took a huge risk in giving Jeff Green four years and $36 million after missing a full season due to serious heart problems last summer. Utah took a smaller risk in letting Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap walk in free agency this summer so they can open up minutes for Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter.
With a broken Bynum, Cleveland essentially has a $6 million expiring contract. The likelihood that he plays enough to get his option picked up remains very slim, which means his only value as a trade piece is as a faceless, Richard Jeffersonesque expiring contract. No more introductions, no more song and dance, no more tomfoolery, no more ballyhoo.
The same will be unfortunately true for Oden. He'll probably get a year and an option for a few million less than Bynum got. Not something that will cripple a franchise, but enough that it could prevent a mid-tier team from reaching the top.
While Bynum was physically unable to work out for teams, Oden has and is apparently looking quite good. Greg and his agent have done an impressive job to get back to a point where teams are willing to bid for him. He should be picking a team any day now. Miami or San Antonio could be the perfect destinations. Not a ton expected of him, they can take a flyer and see if his knees hold up. When they don't, he won't get in the way of a championship.
But New Orleans and Atlanta and Dallas? There's far more pressure for him to play and play now, and if he can't do that, those teams will falter.
No matter where he goes, I hope I'm wrong. Oden is such a uniquely talented specimen that's gotten the rawest of deals. He dominated college ball with one wrist. He was excellent in the 82 NBA games he's played. He was drafted over Kevin Durant in 2007 for a reason. This is generational big man talent.
If you asked me a week ago, I would've topped every team's offer for the right to employ Greg Oden. But Bynum changed me. There's no "if he gets healthy..." anymore. "Healthy" is an abstract idea. "Arthritis," "microfracture," "swelling" -- that is his life now.
Sometimes you can't untangle the Slinky. Sad as it is, sometimes you just gotta walk away.
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Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/31/4572296/greg-oden-nba-free-agency-2013-andrew-bynum
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Sen. Mike Lee pushed back Wednesday against critics in his own party who have been slamming the Utah Republican for steering the country toward a government shutdown with his vow to to oppose any spending bill that funds Obamacare.
?Those kinds of statements are not helpful, those kinds of statements are divisive, but they are nothing compared to what we will hear from the American people when they discover that this laws goes into effect,? Lee said on Fox News of remarks made by GOP opponents of his plan.
Continue ReadingLee warned that Republicans who end up voting for legislation that funds the health care law will ?have a lot to answer for.?
(WATCH: Tom Cole: Obamacare shutdown 'suicidal')
?Those of us who are Republicans and those of us to claim to be against Obamacare, who happen to vote to fund it, will have a lot to pay, will have a lot to answer for with our constituents,? Lee said.
Among the GOP critics of Lee?s approach are Republican Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), who said Tuesday on MSNBC that such efforts are ?silly.?
?I think it?s a silly effort,? Corker said. ?What people are really saying who are behind that effort is we don?t have the courage to roll up our sleeves and deal with real deficit reduction and spending decisions.?
Lee said on Wednesday that about 67 House Republicans and 13 Senate Republicans have signed onto a letter urging Republican leadership to use the government funding bill to defund the Affordable Care Act. ?We?re going to continue adding to that list, there are others who will eventually be there who haven?t yet signed on,? Lee said.
Lee said this effort is the last line of defense before Obamacare kicks in.
Speaking on Rush Limbaugh?s radio show Wednesday afternoon, Lee said the more members of Congress see electoral benefits of his movement, the more will join.
?We don?t yet have enough members of Congress in the House and Senate who have seen the electoral benefits, the political benefits from making the right policy choice ? the right policy here is to stop this horrible law,? Lee said.
Lee said that if they manage to get enough members on board, Democrats will be in the untenable position of threatening to shut down the government.
?You?d then put Harry Reid in the position, the untenable position of saying ?Because we didn?t get everything we wanted, even though you funded every other program in government even the ones Republicans hate, we?re going to shutdown the government,?? Lee said. ?It?s a terrible position for him to be in.?
Lee said this effort is the last line of defense before Obamacare kicks in and that outside the Washington Beltway Obamacare is ?universally despised.?
?Inside the Washington Beltway this discussion is controversial, outside the Beltway Obamacare is universally despised,? Lee said.
Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/mike-lee-takes-on-gop-critics-divisive-94977.html
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