Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/316183335?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, July 1, 2013
7 Saudis imprisoned for using Facebook to urge protests
21 minutes ago
Reuters file
"Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there's no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks," said an official with the Human Rights Watch group.
Saudi Arabia has sentenced seven activists from its restive Eastern Province to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years for posting messages on Facebook calling for anti-government protests, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday.
The New York-based rights group urged EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and other European officials who were meeting with Gulf counterparts, including Saudi Arabia, in Manama on Sunday to condemn the convictions.
Eastern Province has seen occasional protests by minority Shi'ite Muslims over the past two years against alleged discrimination and negligence, which the Riyadh government denies.
"Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there's no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks," Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch's deputy Middle East director, said in a statement.
"If the EU doesn't raise these cases with Saudi officials this weekend, its silence will look like craven compliance with the rights abuses of an authoritarian state."
Saudi Interior Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
A Saudi-based human rights campaigner said the activists were all Shi'ite from al-Ahsa governorate who had set up Facebook pages to urge people to stage demonstrations. "The sectarian situation in the region made the sentences tough and unreasonable," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Human Rights Watch said the seven men were detained in September 2011 and had spent a year and a half in prison before being tried by a special tribunal set up in 2008 to handle terrorism-related cases.
The court did not charge the men with directly participating in the protests, Human Rights Watch said, rather with inciting "protests, illegal gathering, and breaking allegiance with the king".
Saudi Arabia swiftly moved in early 2011 to quell protests by minority Shi'ites over the deployment of Saudi forces to nearby Bahrain to help crush anti-government demonstrations there. A majority of Bahraini citizens are Shi'ites.
But discontent lingers on with occasional protests in eastern Saudi Arabia, where at least 20 people have been killed by security forces since 2011. On Thursday, thousands of Shi'ites protested against the kingdom's ruling al-Saud family at the funeral of a wanted man shot dead by police, an incident that ended months of relative calm in the province.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Medical E-Booking Platform ZocDoc Takes On $53 Million In New Convertible Debt
ZocDoc, the company that makes a web-centric platform for booking health appointments, has closed on $53 million as part of a new $55 million round of convertible debt. In a phone call this afternoon, ZocDoc CEO Cyrus Massoumi said that the funding is in a convertible debt note with a “handful of folks.” He declined to provide further details on the entities involved. “We made the decision a little while ago to open up a convertible debt note on incredibly company-favorable terms… and I don’t believe that companies should ever raise money when they ‘need it’,” Massoumi said. “We don’t need the money, we don’t plan to use it, it’s basically sitting in the bank collecting dust.” Indeed, it doesn’t seem like ZocDoc should be desperate for new funds at the moment. Since it was founded five years ago, ZocDoc has taken on some $95 million in venture capital from investors including Khosla Ventures, Goldman Sachs, DST Global, and others. The new debt note comes at a solid point in ZocDoc’s growth, Massoumi said. ZocDoc has now passed 1,000 procedure types on the service. This is a nice bit of news for the company, which when it launched way back in 2007 at the TechCrunch 40 conference (the earliest iteration of what is now known as Disrupt) was criticized for being something that people would book minor appointments on, but not major things like heart surgeries. “Now, we have people booking appointments for heart surgeries and butt rashes,” Massoumi joked. The new infusion of funding will be a nice thing to have set away as ZocDoc continues to angle for more growth. Massoumi says that ZocDoc recently expanded its New York headquarters, and now has more than 400 employees on its payroll. Its platform is live in more than 1800 cities, and the “vast majority” of the regions in which it operates are profitable for the company, he said.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UiMUjPcMRKo/
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PST: Fire continue turnaround by topping Crew
Two weeks ago I told you the Fire?s season looked promising going forward, and they didn?t disappoint.
After Columbus took the lead through a Federico Higuain penalty, Dilly Duka and Mike McGee quickfired consecutive scores in the second half to complete a shocking comeback as Chicago stunned the Crew 2-1.
The win gives the Fire 12 points in their last 5 fixtures, and completely muddies the waters in the Eastern Conference.
With all three points, Chicago is now just three points back of fifth position, and two behind Columbus in sixth.
The turnaround exactly coincides with Mike Magee?s debut with the Fire, having come over in exchange for the rights to Robby Rogers.? The winger now has 9 goals in 13 MLS matches this season, and he?s got a goal in all 4 matches with the Fire since the transfer ? 3 wins and a draw.? Saturday night?s ? a header into the top corner on a cross from Lindpere ? is also Magee?s 6th goal in his last 6 matches between both clubs.
Also instrumental in Chicago?s turnaround is Bakary Soumare, the Malian central defender who joined in May from Philadelphia and made an immediate impact.
Since joining the squad, Soumare has been instrumental at the back.? The fire have given up just 4 goals in 4 matches since Soumare?s return, picking up points in each one.? In fact, in the two matches for Philadelphia against Chicago prior to his transfer, Soumare and the Union held the Fire to a goose egg on both occasions.
The Fire, with their new found form, have two massive opportunities coming up.? They have a wonderful chance for points against San Jose at home and Sporting KC at home in a match with major playoff implications.
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Blues great Bobby 'Blue' Bland dies at age 83
Celebs 
6 hours ago
GRENADA, Miss. -- Bobby "Blue" Bland, a distinguished singer who blended Southern blues and soul in songs such as "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Further On Up the Road," died Sunday. He was 83.
Rodd Bland said his father died due to complications from an ongoing illness at his Memphis, Tenn., home. He was surrounded by relatives.
Mark Lennihan / AP file
On Jan. 15, 1992, Bobby "Blue" Bland, left, receives his award for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from B.B. King during induction ceremonies in New York.
Bland was known as the "the Sinatra of the blues" and was heavily influenced by Nat King Cole, often recording with lavish arrangements to accompany his smooth vocals. He even openly imitated Frank Sinatra on the "Two Steps From the Blues" album cover, standing in front of a building with a coat thrown over his shoulder.
"He brought a certain level of class to the blues genre," said Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell, son of legendary musician and producer Willie Mitchell.
Bland was a contemporary of B.B. King's, serving as the blues great's valet and chauffeur at one point, and was one of the last of the living connections to the roots of the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and was an influence on scores of young rock 'n' rollers.
Born in Rosemark, Tenn., he moved to nearby Memphis as a teenager and became a founding member of the Beale Streeters, a group that also included King and Johnny Ace. Upon his induction, the Rock Hall of Fame noted Bland was "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis' Beale Street blues scene."
After a stint in the Army, he recorded with producer Sam Phillips, who helped launch the careers of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, in the early 1950s with little to show for it. It wasn't until later that decade Bland began to find success.
He scored his first No. 1 on the R&B charts with "Further On Up the Road" in 1957 and it was around this time he got his nickname, taken from his song "Little Boy Blue" because his repertoire focused so closely on lovelorn subject matter. Beginning with "I'll Take Care of You" in early 1960, Bland released a dozen R&B hits in a row. That string included "Turn On Your Love Light" in 1961.
Some of his best-known songs included "Call on Me" and "That's the Way Love Is," both released in 1963, and "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" in 1964.
"Lead Me On," another well-known song, breaks the listener's heart with the opening lines: "You know how it feels, you understand/What it is to be a stranger, in this unfriendly land."
Bland wasn't as well known as some of his contemporaries, but was no less an influential figure for early rock 'n' roll stars. Many of his songs, especially "Further On Up the Road" and "I Pity the Fool," were recorded by young rockers, including David Bowie and Eric Clapton.
"He's always been the type of guy that if he could help you in any way, form or fashion, he would," Rodd Bland said.
AP Music Writer Chris Talbott contributed to this report.
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/blues-great-bobby-bluebland-dies-age-83-6C10423620
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Frandsen's pinch-hit homer carries Phils to win
BOX SCORE
Kevin Frandsen hit his first-career walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Phillies beat the Mets, 8-7, at Citizens Bank Park. It was his third homer of the year.
A combination of bad bullpen pitching and poor fielding nearly conspired to sink the Phillies. The Phillies were up six runs going into the seventh inning, but the lead crumbled as the game funneled toward its conclusion.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo home run to Jordany Valdespin. David Wright then reached first on an error by Michael Young. Wright eventually scored to tie the game.
Starting pitching report
Jonathan Pettibone went six innings but left the game with lower back tightness on the right side. He scattered five hits and surrendered just one earned run. Pettibone ?- who had one walk and one strikeout -- dropped his ERA to 4.14.
Mets starter Dillon Gee struggled from the beginning. Gee lasted five innings, allowing eight hits, five earned runs and three homers while striking out four and issuing no walks. Gee threw 67 pitches, 48 for strikes.
Bullpen report
It was another rough outing for the Phillies' bullpen, which entered the game with a 4.55 ERA and a .271 opponents batting average (both stats were next-to-last in the Majors).
Michael Stutes -- who served up a grand slam in an 11-inning loss to the Nationals earlier this week -- came on in the seventh inning. He immediately gave up a run, loaded the bases and didn?t record an out before he was yanked for Justin De Fratus. (Stutes?s line: 0 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB.)
De Fratus allowed a two-run double to the first batter he faced, Eric Young. De Fratus faced four batters (0.2 IP, 1 H, O ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) in the seventh before he was pulled for Jake Diekman, who finally recorded the last out of the inning.
Following the Mets? four-run, seventh-inning outburst, Antonio Bastardo pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Papelbon blew his third save of the season and gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning. He picked up the win, his third of the year.
At the plate
Ryan Howard drove in four of the Phillies? eight runs. Howard had an opposite field solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. He hit another homer in the fifth inning. After a slow start, Howard has mashed three home runs this week. He has 10 for the season. It was Howard?s first multi-home run game since August 30, 2011.
Chase Utley -- who returned from a stint on the DL on Friday -- got his first hit since rejoining the club. Utley -- who went 0 for 5 with a strikeout on Friday -- was 1 for 4 and scored a run.
Ben Revere, who had two singles, extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He also had three stolen bases (tying a career high), his 18th, 19th and 20th of the season.
Michael Young went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, including a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the field
Michael Young booted a ball in the ninth inning that allowed Wright to reach first base. Wright scored when Revere bobbled a single by Daniel Murphy, and the Mets tied the game.
Transaction
Prior to Saturday?s game, the Phillies placed relief pitcher Mike Adams on the 15-day disabled list (bicep tendinitis). Adams was replaced by J.C. Ramirez, who was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To make room for Ramirez, utility man Michael Martinez was designated for assignment.
Up next
The Phillies finish their three-game set against the Mets on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. John Lannan (0-1, 5.49) will face Mets right-hander Matt Harvey (6-1, 2.16). First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm.
Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/instant-replay-phillies-8-mets-7
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Thursday, June 6, 2013
A-Rod's future with Yankees is uncertain
NEW YORK (AP) ? Don't count on Alex Rodriguez giving up his Yankees pinstripes any time soon.
Vilified by fans for his poor performance in the playoffs. Pursued by Major League Baseball in yet another case involving performance-enhancing drugs. Called out by his employer for not behaving like a Yankee should.
A Lightning Rod for all the wrong reasons, none of the off-field distractions ? and there have been plenty ? have seemed to have had any effect on A-Rod in the past.
It shouldn't be any different this time.
As MLB ramps up its investigation into the Florida anti-aging clinic linked to the sale of performance-enhancing drugs to Rodriguez and more than a dozen major league players, the three-time AL MVP quietly rehabs his surgically repaired hip at the Yankees' minor league facility in Tampa, Fla., with plans to return in the second half of the season with "a lot of unfinished business."
Even as a solitary figure on a field in Florida, Rodriguez is a bother in the Bronx.
Earlier this week, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told ESPN he didn't think the 14-time All-Star third basemen could live up to his record $275 million, 10-year contract that runs through 2017. A day later managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner piled on, saying "there have no doubt been times when we've been disappointed in him and we've conveyed that to him and he understands that."
There's been plenty to be disappointed about.
After winning his second MVP and earning his fourth of seven All-Star nods with the Yankees in 2007, Rodriguez opted out of his contract during the World Series, rankling baseball executives. Two years later he admitted using steroids while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. He's also been investigated for participating in illegal poker games.
Rodriguez is as careless as Yankees captain Derek Jeter is discreet. A-Rod has been repeatedly splashed on the gossip pages with Madonna, Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz and Torrie Wilson. He caused a stir when he was seen with a stripper in Toronto and at a swingers' club in Dallas. For a magazine spread, he was photographed kissing his reflection in a full-length mirror ? no one loves Alex more than Alex.
And that's just off the field.
Last October, he was benched in three of nine games and pinch-hit for in three others ? after being removed from Game 1 of the AL championship series, he was caught flirting with fans in the stands. His next hit against a right-handed pitcher will be his first in 19 at-bats. He was 0 for 18 in the postseason against righties. With each of his outs, fans booed more loudly and were more decisively convinced that he was done as a player.
But there is no end with A-Rod.
And there's little the Yankees can do about it ? and the remaining $104 million of Rodriguez's contract.
There was a time when Rodriguez was touted as the star who would restore credibility to the record book. Now MLB wants to throw the book at him.
And the Yankees might prefer it if he just goes away.
Even if MLB suspends Rodriguez for 50 or 100 games for his connection to Biogenesis of America and its founder Anthony Bosch, the Yankees can't use that to void his contract because of language in baseball's drug agreement.
Yankees ace CC Sabathia said he and his teammates are behind Rodriguez no matter what comes out of the investigation.
"There'll be nothing but love and support in here," he said.
But the drug agreement does allow for a team to void a contract if it is proven that a player's injury was a direct result of his use of performance enhancers.
The physician who performed Rodriguez's surgery in January, Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, debunked that theory. He said the condition, known as femoral acetabular impingement, was caused by genes, not by steroids.
"This is a developmental, genetic predisposition to a certain shape of the hip joint that occurs during the first 15 years of development," Kelly said. "Steroids don't change the shape of your bones, of your hip joint."
That leaves the Yankees in the position of hoping the soon-to-be 38-year-old Rodriguez will retire ? a big money saver for the team ? or can have a resurgence similar to the one he had in 2009, when he returned from his first hip surgery and nearly single-handedly led the team to its first World Series title since 2000.
Of course, that New York love-in for Rodriguez didn't last long. The following spring he was tied to Anthony Galea, the Canadian doctor who was indicted in part for illegal possession of human growth hormone with intent to distribute. The team made it known they never authorized Rodriguez to be treated by Galea.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rods-future-yankees-uncertain-070646140.html
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