Programming model for supercomputers of the future

June 25, 2013 ? The demand for even faster, more effective, and also energy-saving computer clusters is growing in every sector. The new asynchronous programming model GPI from Fraunhofer ITWM might become a key building block towards realizing the next generation of supercomputers.

High-performance computing is one of the key technologies for numerous applications that we have come to take for granted -- everything from Google searches to weather forecasting and climate simulation to bioinformatics requires an ever increasing amount of computing ressources. Big data analysis additionally is driving the demand for even faster, more effective, and also energy-saving computer clusters. The number of processors per system has now reached the millions and looks set to grow even faster in the future. Yet something has remained largely unchanged over the past 20 years and that is the programming model for these supercomputers. The Message Passing Interface (MPI) ensures that the microprocessors in the distributed systems can communicate. For some time now, however, it has been reaching the limits of its capability.

"I was trying to solve a calculation and simulation problem related to seismic data," says Dr. Carsten Lojewski from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM. "But existing methods weren't working. The problems were a lack of scalability, the restriction to bulk-synchronous, two-sided communication, and the lack of fault tolerance. So out of my own curiosity I began to develop a new programming model." This development work ultimately resulted in the Global Address Space Programming Interface -- or GPI -- which uses the parallel architecture of high-performance computers with maximum efficiency.

GPI is based on a completely new approach: an asynchronous communication model, which is based on remote completion. With this approach, each processor can directly access all data -- regardless of which memory it is on and without affecting other parallel processes. Together with Rui Machado, also from Fraunhofer ITWM, and Dr. Christian Simmendinger from T-Systems Solutions for Research, Dr. Carsten Lojewski is receiving a Joseph von Fraunhofer prize this year.

Like the programming model of MPI, GPI was not developed as a parallel programming language, but as a parallel programming interface, which means it can be used universally. The demand for such a scalable, flexible, and fault-tolerant interface is large and growing, especially given the exponential growth in the number of processors in supercomputers.

Initial sample implementations of GPI have worked very successfully: "High-performance computing has become a universal tool in science and business, a fixed part of the design process in fields such as automotive and aircraft manufacturing," says Dr. Christian Simmendinger. "Take the example of aerodynamics: one of the simulation cornerstones in the European aerospace sector, the software TAU, was ported to the GPI platform in a project with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). GPI allowed us to significantly increase parallel efficiency."

Even though GPI is a tool for specialists, it has the potential to revolutionize algorithmic development for high-performance software. It is considered a key component in enabling the next generation of supercomputers -- exascale computers, which are 1,000 times faster than the mainframes of today.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/irWHKdRpnqY/130625073557.htm

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NBC's Gregory: Why shouldn't Greenwald be charged?

FILE - In this June 11, 2013, file photo Britain's The Guardian newspaper reporter Glenn Greenwald talks to The Associated Press in Hong Kong. Greenwald first reported former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of NSA's government surveillance programs. On the Sunday talk show "Meet the Press", June 23, 2013, host David Gregory asked Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" Snowden. Greenwald replied that it was "pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies." (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - In this June 11, 2013, file photo Britain's The Guardian newspaper reporter Glenn Greenwald talks to The Associated Press in Hong Kong. Greenwald first reported former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of NSA's government surveillance programs. On the Sunday talk show "Meet the Press", June 23, 2013, host David Gregory asked Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" Snowden. Greenwald replied that it was "pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies." (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

Glenn Greenwald, a reporter of The Guardian newspaper, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong Monday, June 10, 2013. Greenwald reported a 29-year-old contractor who claims to have worked at the National Security Agency and the CIA allowed himself to be revealed Sunday as the source of disclosures about the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs, risking prosecution by the U.S. government. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

FILE - In this June 10, 2013, file photo The Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald speaks to reporters at his hotel in Hong Kong. Greenwald first reported former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of NSA's government surveillance programs. On Sunday's "Meet the Press", June 23, 2013, host David Gregory asked Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" Snowden. Greenwald replied that it was "pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies." (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory got a rise out of Glenn Greenwald on Sunday by asking the Guardian reporter why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for having "aided and abetted" former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden.

Greenwald replied on the show Sunday that it was "pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies."

Greenwald first reported Snowden's disclosure of U.S. government surveillance programs. On Sunday, Ecuador's foreign minister and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said that Snowden was headed to Ecuador to seek asylum.

During his interview with NBC's Gregory, Greenwald declined to discuss where Snowden was headed. That refusal seemed to prompt Gregory to ask: "To the extent that you have aided and abetted Snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?"

Greenwald said Gregory was embracing the Obama administration's attempt to "criminalize investigative journalism," citing an FBI agent's characterization of Fox News journalist James Rosen as a probable co-conspirator of a State Department contractor who was suspected of leaking classified information to Rosen. Rosen was not charged.

"If you want to embrace that theory, it means that every investigative journalist in the United States who works with their sources, who receives classified information is a criminal, and it's precisely those theories and precisely that climate that has become so menacing in the United States," said Greenwald, a former constitutional and civil rights lawyer who has written three books contending that the government has violated personal rights in the name of protecting national security.

Gregory responded that "the question of who is a journalist may be up to a debate with regard to what you are doing." Gregory also said he was merely asking a question.

"That question has been raised by lawmakers as well," Gregory said. "I'm not embracing anything, but, obviously, I take your point."

Later, Greenwald tweeted, "Who needs the government to try to criminalize journalism when you have David Gregory to do it?" and, "Has David Gregory ever publicly wondered if powerful DC officials should be prosecuted for things like illegal spying & lying to Congress?"

____

Follow Fred Frommer on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ffrommer

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-23-US-Reporters-Treason/id-ce96655a3b6740a29c28d14529ba8891

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Microsoft reportedly bringing Xbox and PC games to the iPhone

Microsoft is reportedly planning on bringing a number of Xbox and PC titles to the iPhone starting later this year. According to a report on Reuters, Microsoft is collaborating with Japanese developer Klab Inc. in order to bring these games to their competitor's platforms.

Through a licensing deal, Klab will bring Microsoft's Xbox and Windows-based computer games to the iPhone and smartphones using Google Inc's Android operating system, according to the Nikkei.

Age of Empires, a popular strategy game, is set to be the first title for iPhone, launching by the end of fiscal year 2013 as a free-to-play title. Other titles bound for the iPhone have yet to be announced.

There's quite a bit that this announcement doesn't tell us. For instance, it's not clear if these games will be made available to tablets, or if they are exclusive to phones initially. We also don't know how old these games are, whether or not "Xbox" means the first Xbox, the 360, or perhaps both. Will Age of Empires be a port of an older title, or a completely new version of the game? Will we be seeing a Gears of War game on the iPhone in short order? Or, maybe Halo: Spartan Assault will come to iOS sooner rather than later.

What Microsoft games would you like to see come to iOS? Let us know below in the comments.

Source: Reuters

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/5o6GxgIS5a8/story01.htm

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Video: Doll: Summer 'Market Pause' Plays

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52294051/

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PFT: Police search strip club in Hernandez probe

AP

Bills WR Marquise Goodman draws inspiration from his younger brother.

Part of the reason that LB Alonzo Highsmith Jr. signed with the Dolphins was to be close to his brother, a University of Miami senior also named Alonzo Highsmith Jr.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com points out the problems Patriots players drafted out of Florida in 2011 have experienced and wonders if Bill Belichick put too much stock in his friendship with Urban Meyer.

Jets assistant coaches Dennis Thurman and Tim McDonald have enjoyed a long friendship.

A look at the fight for roster spots and playing time in the Ravens backfield.

Will Bengals LB James Harrison outplay Jarvis Jones, his replacement on the Steelers roster, during the 2013 season?

What can the Browns do to cut down on QB Brandon Weeden getting passes knocked down at the line?

Age won?t be a problem for the Steelers defensive backs, according to the Steelers defensive backs.

Texans DE J.J. Watt got to know about helicopters during his visit to Afghanistan.

Previewing Year Two for Colts QB Andrew Luck.

Jaguars K Josh Scobee taught Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com about the technique needed to be a placekicker.

A video look at the progress made by Titans QB Jake Locker.

The Broncos are trying to keep expectations from going to anyone?s head.

An offseason with coach Andy Reid has left Chiefs QB Chase Daniel confident about the year to come.

Said Raiders RB Darren McFadden, ?Things are going very well with the offensive line. As far as the blitz pick up, the calls the offensive line is making. I feel like we?re meshing very well.?

CB Steve Williams could make an immediate impact in the Chargers secondary.

Ten things to know about Cowboys DB Will Allen.

Giants DT Marvin Austin has been playing the drums with children as part of a program called School of Rock.

A newly released biography tries to paint a picture of Eagles coach Chip Kelly.

Taking stock of the left defensive end spot for the Redskins.

Bears QB Jay Cutler is turning the clock back to the 80s for a fundraiser.

QB Thaddeus Lewis is confident about his chances of making the Lions.

Packers TE D.J. Williams likes to both work hard and play hard.

How much does it matter where on the depth chart the Vikings place DT Sharrif Floyd?

Osi Umenyiora thinks the younger Falcons defensive ends are developing quickly.

Undrafted rookie S Robert Lester hopes to make a mark with the Panthers.

Contrary to an internet report, Saints QB Drew Brees didn?t break his legs in a car accident.

Buccaneers rookies have spent time with local members of the military recently.

The Cardinals say they are reloading rather than rebuilding.

The Rams opened the NFL?s first Youth Training Academy.

Achilles injuries are piling up for the 49ers.

Looking back at general managers through the years for the Seahawks.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/22/police-search-providence-strip-club-as-part-of-odin-lloyd-murder-investigation/related/

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Okay, Yeah The Surface Of Venus Looks Really Hot

It's kind of hard to scope things out on Venus because the surface probes we send get obliterated pretty quickly by the heat. Pictures of Venus' surface do exist, though, and this one shows "large circular domes" that look pretty darn hot. The domes are thought to be magma erupting through vents, in a process that happens on Earth too, called volcanism. Get it? Volcanoes? Get it? Okay. Moving on.

The Magellan spacecraft circled Venus from 1990 to 1994 and used radar to map its surface. The picture above is computer generated based on those data. To get a sense of scale, the circular domes on Venus are estimated to be about 15.5 miles across, so we're not talking about some little magma bubble here. How long until Earth is just as inhospitable? [APOD]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/okay-yeah-the-surface-of-venus-looks-really-hot-548934139

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Militants in north Nigeria force thousands to flee

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) ? Islamic extremists threatening a bloodbath forced thousands of people from villages along Nigeria's northeast, where refugees said Saturday the fighters have regrouped following a monthlong military crackdown.

People who escaped the bush near Nigeria's border with Cameroon fled to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri said militants from the Boko Haram terrorist network also have written letters warning government workers to resign their jobs or face death. Other villagers left for Cameroon.

"They warned government officials and civil servants in Bama to resign or else face death in the next seven days. We are all scared, this could be more deadly, so we ran for our dear lives," said Abba Fannami who fled to Maidguri with six family members.

A police officer said Boko Haram fighters were ransacking homes in neighboring Gwoza district, forcing residents to hide in caves in the rocky hills.

Soldiers and police on bombing raids with jet fighters and helicopter gunships have dislodged the insurgents from camps in a game reserve. But the refugees confirmed reports that the fighters have regrouped in the mountains and rocky hills of Gwoza and Bama districts.

In recent days the extremists ? whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" ? have targeted schools, killing 16 high school students and two teachers in two attacks.

The militants also have attacked primary schools, burning down at least 50 in the past year, according to Borno state commissioner for primary education, Tijjani Abba Ali.

In a separate operation in Kano state, west of Borno, police said they rounded up 400 migrants on Saturday and are deporting those who do not have the necessary documents.

"This is a mop up exercise of illegal immigrants to complement what the Federal Government is doing in the states currently under the emergency rule," Kano state controller Hamisu Maishanu told reporters.

By late Saturday morning, he said screening of those detained had revealed some 150 people from the neighboring country of Niger who did not have the right documents.

Kano state is not in a state of emergency. The emergency covers the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, an area encompassing 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles).

The emergency and a military and police crackdown since May 14 has failed to crush the extremists blamed for the killings of more than 1,600 people since 2010. Boko Haram and splinter groups want to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and the continent's biggest oil producer.

---

Associated Press writer Ibrahim Shuaibu contributed to this report from Kano city, Nigeria.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/militants-north-nigeria-force-thousands-flee-142228285.html

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North West: Great Celebrity Baby Name, Or The Greatest Celebrity Baby Name?

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their daughter North; where does that moniker rank on the all-time list?
By James Montgomery

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709434/north-west-celebrity-baby-names.jhtml

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NSA leaker charged with espionage, theft

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.

Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leaker of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

The complaint is an integral part of the U.S. government's effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle. Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges. "I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," said di Pretoro.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major providers such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-21-NSA%20Surveillance/id-5a399e4670b34b789b09ee1bf63e24b4

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At the Core: Response to Canada's Spot on the G8 Impact Investing ...

I have a lot of respect for the social finance, social enterprise, and impact investing entrepreneurs and initiatives in the UK?folks like Daniel Brewer at Resonance Limited, Servane Mouazan at Ogunte, Elisicia Moore at Petit Miracles, Theresa Burton at Buzzbnk, Suzanne Biegel at Clearly Social Angels, Rachel Sinha at the Finance Lab, the list goes on?but do not for a second credit Prime Minister David Cameron.?

The Big Society campaign was launched amidst his bid for the election win in 2010. In parallel to the various initiatives such as Big Society Capital, there were policies and plans to privatize a key social services. ?

The UK is not leaps and bounds ahead of Canada. ?

We must be mindful of the scale of the social enterprise sector compared to mainstream financial and investment services??600m in the Big Society Bank is a drop in the bucket?and the inequality that exists (and Canada is not immune to it). I would never ever wish for the concentration of wealth nor influence to lie the hands of a few elite (which Sir Ronald Cohen and David Cameron are a part of) to happen in Canada as it has in the UK. ?

In Canada, doing business in a way that takes care of individuals, their families, their neighbours, their communities, and future generations is embedded in our culture. In Canada we have businesses with purpose baked into the business models and corporate culture. Social enterprises, locally owned businesses, and purposeful ventures do business side-by-side and hand-in-hand with big corporates. It is not token. It is not just part of a big corporate's social responsibility mandate. It is because for the most part Canadians still appreciate that business and investing is about people?that it is about "taking care of the village", that investing is not a game about getting the highest score and knocking all the competitors off the field.

I don't advocate for a Canadian version of Sir Cohen, that has the ear of the PM. Instead I want a Prime Minister that is highly and actively engaged with the citizens of the country he or she leads and whose interests he or she serves, and a vocal and active citizenry.

There are lots of amazing, disruptive, creative things happening in the UK (led by people I'm proud to call my friends), but the environment there is very different. Could I do what I'm doing in Canada over in the UK (disrupt the investment sector by investing with integrated decision-making, and with the lenses of impact and gender)? Yes, I probably could (in fact I piloted an activist angel training program in the UK, espousing this more integrated approach to investing, with Servane Mouazan), but it would be a hard slog and I'd feel like I was part of a "niche" community as opposed to fully welcomed in the business community and taken just as seriously as as the bankers on Bay Street or Canary Wharf.

I was born and raised in Canada, immigrated to the UK and lived there for 12 years. I had an investment banking career in London, but I got there from humble beginnings, with unrivaled access to great education as a child. In 2009, I began to integrate purpose and my values into my work in impact investing in the UK and in 2011, I took a look at where in the world, me and my family could have the life, lifestyle, and livelihood we wanted, that was healthy and nurturing in all respects.?

We chose Vancouver and here we are. I collaborate with entrepreneurs, investors, and changemakers in Canada, the US, and the UK, helping people access the essential resources they need to live happy and thriving lives. My work is well supported here in Canada and I am fiercely proud to be a Canadian entrepreneur in the impact investment sector. Canadians - do not underestimate nor undersell yourselves!

The question is not, "where is Canada on the G8 Impact Investing totem pole?". Instead, the answer is that impact investing is at Canada's core.

--

Editor's note: The post to which Ms. Foley-Wongs comments refer, "Canada's Spot on the G8 Impact Investing Totem Pole: An Interview with Ted Anderson," can be found here.?

Source: http://socialfinance.ca/blog/post/at-the-core-response-to-canadas-spot-on-the-g8-impact-investing-totem-pole

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One million march across Brazil in biggest protests yet

By Paulo Prada and Maria Carolina Marcello

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - An estimated 1 million people took to the streets in cities across Brazil on Thursday as the country's biggest protests in two decades intensified despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations.

Undeterred by the reversal of transport fare hikes that sparked the protests, and promises of better public services, demonstrators marched around two international soccer matches and in locales as diverse as the Amazon capital of Manaus and the prosperous southern city of Florianopolis.

While the protests remained mostly peaceful, the growing number of participants led to occasional outbursts of violence and vandalism in some cities. In central Rio de Janeiro, where 300,000 people marched, police afterwards chased looters and dispersed people crowding into surrounding areas.

"Twenty cents was just the start," read signs held by many converging along the Avenida Paulista, the broad avenue in central S?o Paulo, referring to the bus fare reductions. Police there said 110,000 people lined the avenue.

In the capital, Brasilia, tens of thousands of protesters marched around the landmark modernist buildings that house Congress and the Supreme Court and briefly set fire to the outside of the Foreign Ministry. Police said about 80 of the protesters, some with homemade explosives, made it into the ministry building before they were repelled.

In Ribeir?o Preto, near S?o Paulo, a 20-year-old demonstrator died after a driver plowed a jeep into a crowd. Brazilian media reported hundreds of minor injuries across the country, including a Rio television reporter who recounted being hit by a rubber bullet fired by police.

The swelling tide of protests prompted President Dilma Rousseff to cancel a trip next week to Japan, her office said. The president, whose administration was caught off-guard by the rapid growth of the demonstrations, also planned an emergency meeting for Friday, a government source said.

The targets of the protests, now in their second week, have broadened to include high taxes, inflation, corruption and poor public services ranging from hospitals and schools to roads and police forces.

With an international soccer tournament as a backdrop, demonstrators are also denouncing the more than $26 billion of public money that will be spent on the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, two events meant to showcase a modern, developed Brazil.

"This is fair play," read a banner among the hordes in Brasilia, a twist on the slogan used to promote sportsmanship by FIFA, world soccer's governing body.

MULTIPLE GRIEVANCES

After the concession on transport fares on Wednesday, activist groups differed over what their next priority should be. On Facebook, Twitter and other social media, some Brazilians expressed disgust for the scattered violence and vandalism that marred some of the marches.

The competing demands of demonstrators appeared to add to the intensity of Thursday's protests.

"What am I protesting for?" asked Savina Santos, a 29-year-old civil servant in Sao Paulo. "You should ask what I'm not protesting for! We need political reform, tax reform, an end to corruption, better schools, better transportation. We are not in a position to be hosting the World Cup."

Inside Rio's iconic Maracan? stadium, soccer fans sang protest songs and showed support for the throngs of demonstrators gathering in the city. In Salvador, a northeastern city hosting another game of the soccer tournament that serves as a World Cup test run, protesters pelted a FIFA bus with rocks.

Police in Salvador, Rio, Brasilia and other cities used tear gas, pepper spray and other tools to disperse crowds. They donned riot gear and used horses, trucks and barricades to help channel the crowds and protect buildings.

The unrest comes six months before an election year and just as Brazil, after nearly a decade-long economic boom in which the country's profile soared on the global stage, enters a period of uncertainty. Economic growth of less than 1 percent last year, annual inflation of 6.5 percent and a loss of appetite for Brazilian assets among international investors have clouded what had been a feel-good era for Brazil, a country of nearly 200 million people.

Brazil's currency, the real, dropped to a four-year low on Thursday, trading as weak as 2.275 per U.S. dollar. The country's benchmark stock market index, the Bovespa, also hit a four-year low.

CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

The protests have shaken the once solid ground under Rousseff and her ruling Workers' Party, a bloc that grew out of convulsive demonstrations by Brazil's labor movement 30 years ago. Until inflation and other economic woes began eroding her poll numbers in recent weeks, Rousseff enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings of any elected leader worldwide.

The demonstrations have been comprised of mostly middle-class, well-educated voters who do not form the bulk of Rousseff's electoral base. The president and her party have sought to get ahead of the complaints and embrace them as their own - a shift that contrasts sharply with a playbook that long relied on telling Brazilians that they had never had it so good.

With little more than a year to go before presidential and gubernatorial elections, the unrest is forcing incumbents and traditional political parties to reconsider their strategies.

(Additional reporting by Eduardo Sim?es, Caroline Stauffer, Pedro Fonseca and Jeferson Ribeiro; Editing by Todd Benson and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-thousands-protesters-march-brazil-010615638.html

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5 things of note from the NBA Finals

MIAMI (AP) ? Five things of note from Miami's seven-game win over San Antonio in the NBA Finals, which ended Thursday night:

___

LEBRON'S MOMENT: LeBron James scored 37 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added four assists, which for him now almost seems like an ordinary stat line. But even those big numbers didn't tell the whole story. After being accused of shrinking in the moment during the 2011 Finals, James more than made amends this time around. His jump shot with just under 30 seconds left capped the title, capped his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, capped a fourth quarter that he absolutely controlled, and maybe put to rest the notion that he tends to check out when the lights are brightest. Keep in mind, Dwyane Wade had 23 points, Shane Battier scored 18 and Mario Chalmers scored 14 ? but other than that, the entire Heat roster combined for three points. Chris Bosh didn't score. Ray Allen didn't score. And the Heat won. That's how good James was in Game 7.

___

SPOELSTRA'S CREDIT: Five franchises in the last 40 years have won back-to-back titles, and Erik Spoelstra is now the coach of one of them. He has been the mastermind of all things on the court for Miami for the past five seasons, three of which have ended with trips to the NBA Finals, the last two with championships. And if Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is considered one of the standards for "best in the game" today, then Spoelstra at least belongs in the conversation, since he matched Popovich move for move in this series. "And Erik is only going to get better," said Heat President Pat Riley, who has now been part of nine NBA championship clubs.

___

DEFENSE WINS: For five games, Danny Green couldn't miss, and San Antonio was on the cusp of a title. For two games in Miami, Green was swallowed up by a swarming Miami defense. In Games 6 and 7 of the NBA Finals, Green went 2 for 19 from the floor, 2 for 11 from 3-point range. And to think he was a strong candidate for Finals MVP after the Spurs took a 3-2 lead in the series. The Spurs made just six 3-pointers in Game 7 while Miami made 12, six from Shane Battier and five more from LeBron James. The Spurs shot just 38 percent as a team, and Miami needed its defense to be that good ? or else the title could have very easily slipped away.

___

THREE FOR THREE: Dwyane Wade's jersey number is 3. His favorite number is three. And it's now the number of NBA championships on his resume. Wade was bothered by a bad right knee throughout the playoffs, then hurt his surgically repaired left knee in Game 6 of the Finals, and still found a way to not just play, but play at a high level. He was 11 for 21 from the floor, scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked two shots and logged 39 minutes, resting only when absolutely necessary.

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THE FUTURE: Tim Duncan said he will be back in San Antonio, and now the Spurs will wait and see what Manu Ginobili decides about next season. The Heat are largely expected to bring their core back, though some moves to get even better are possible. "I don't even want to think about next year ? yet," James said. That's probably a good thing, and the Heat will surely spend a few days relaxing and celebrating until their parade through downtown Miami on Monday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-things-note-nba-finals-074033726.html

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Salman Khan Inspires Imran Khan? 'OUATIMD' Actor Sports Firoza Like 'Dabangg' Star

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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Thursday, June 20, 2013
Bollywood Actor Imran Khan, who will be seen in "Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara (OUATIMD)", will sport a Firoza - a blue stone similar to the one that Salman Khan has been wearing for the past three years. ...

Source: http://www.ibtimes.comhttp:0//www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/481042/20130620/imran-khan-salman-akshay-kumar-ouatimd.htm

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