Rocket's Africa Internet Holding Launches Hotel Booking Site ...

It?s often said that the question, ?what if Google launches something similar??, is the kind of thing that keeps entrepreneurs up at night. But if you?re a burgeoning e-commerce startup in an emerging market, the same could also be said of the Samwer brothers? Rocket Internet. In the last few years, the German startup factory has ventured outside of its European roots to aggressively focus on emerging markets, such as Latin America, Asia, and Africa, to the chagrin of local players.

Today sees Rocket launch its first hotel booking site in Africa, via Africa Internet Holding, its Joint Venture with telecoms operator Millicom. Headquartered in and initially targeting customers in Nigeria, Jovago launches with an inventory of 140,000 bookable hotels online, but only lists 200 locally. That?s because each local hotel is vetted in person by the startup?s staff to ensure details are accurate and the quality of the hotel?s service and provision can be ensured, which also points to the specific market problem that Jovago is aiming to solve.

In the words of the company, the hotel-booking market in Nigeria is ?unsorted?, and lacks a convenient way for travellers to book hotel accommodation online (though local player Hotels.ng might have something to say about that). Instead, the norm, says Jovago, is to use ?time-consuming? booking agencies, or to simply book a hotel face-to-face at the point of arrival. Likewise, credit card penetration is lower in Africa, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, Jovago offers customers the option to choose between paying at the hotel or using the secure online payment option. Interestingly, it doesn?t pass on a booking fee to consumers, even though it does take commission on each transaction from the hotels it?s signed up to its platform, which is the standard agency model.

When questioned about Jovago?s competitive advantages over local players, Africa Internet Holding is talking up its online marketing experience. ?Plus we visit personally every hotel listed on our website to ensure our customers about the quality of information about the hotels,? says Africa Internet Holding co-founder Jeremy Hodara. ?Soon we?re gonna have the widest range of hotels available for booking in Africa thanks to our local sales teams.? To that end, Jovago says it currently has a head-count of about 50 people.

In contrast to the 200 or so local hotels available to book through Jovago, the current number one player in the country, Hotels.ng, lists over 4,000. Mark Essien, Chief Product Officer at Hotels.ng, tells me that?s out of almost 10,000 hotels that are in existence in Nigeria alone. ?To get this inventory, we have 40 people across Nigeria visiting hotels and striking deals with the hotels,? he says. ?It?s long, grueling work, and in some cases quite dangerous. It?s worth it though, because we have been able to outstrip all incumbents in terms of inventory and bookings.?

Essien says that in the last 4 months, Hotels.ng has locally outgrown international brands such as Expedia, and Bookings.com, along with local competitors Wakanow, and Nitestay. However, with rumours of Rocket?s imminent arrival, he?s already had to field questions on how the company plans to stand up to its new rival. ?Rocket Internet have deep pockets and are good in executing in emerging markets,? he concedes, but argues that Hotels.ng can hold its own.

?We have quickly become the biggest Nigerian hotel booking site by rapid and efficient execution in a way that works for Africa,? says Essien. ?We think we will out-execute Rocket in Nigeria and Africa. Moving this business online has to be done manually and via direct negotiation. This is a hard problem, but it?s in the hard problems that opportunity lie.?

Meanwhile, the hotel booking site is more evidence of Rocket Internet/Africa Internet Holding bedding down in Africa. Other properties in its African portfolio include Jumia (online retailer), Hellofood (online food delivery), Kaymu (online marketplace), and Vamido (real estate market place). Africa Internet Holding currently employs more than 1,500 staff through its incubated startups.

Finally, I?m told that, along with rapidly expanding the number of local hotels it lists, Jovago plans to also introduce bus ticket and flight ticket booking and car rentals.

Africa Internet Holding (AIH) is the largest, fastest and most successful African Internet Group. It was founded in 2011 by Rocket Internet and is headquartered in the most vibrant continent in the world: Africa. AIH has also entered into a capital partnership with Millicom, a leading African Telecom operator. We are currently operating 5 companies in 8 countries, all of which already at leading positions: Jumia, Hello Food, Kaymu, Vamido and other online startups across Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ghana,...

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Rocket Internet GmbH invests in the development of innovative companies in the internet industry. Their passionate, dynamic, highly motivated team works to establish promising business models in the market.

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Jovago is an online hotel booking platform that focuses on the Nigerian market. Jovago launched in August 2013 with an inventory of 140,000 bookable hotels online, but only lists 200 locally? each local hotel is vetted in person by the startup?s staff to ensure details are accurate and the quality of the hotel?s service and provision can be ensured. Jovago offers customers the option to choose between paying at the hotel or using the secure online payment option.

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Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/05/jovago/

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Part-Time Work Made Up More Than 65 Percent Of New Jobs Created In July

WASHINGTON -- The 162,000 jobs the economy added in July were a disappointment. The quality of the jobs was even worse.

A disproportionate number of the added jobs were part-time or low-paying ? or both.

Part-time work accounted for more than 65 percent of the positions employers added in July. Low-paying retailers, restaurants and bars supplied more than half July's job gain.

"You're getting jobs added, but they might not be the best-quality job," says John Canally, an economist with LPL Financial in Boston.

So far this year, low-paying industries have provided 61 percent of the nation's job growth, even though these industries represent just 39 percent of overall U.S. jobs, according to Labor Department numbers analyzed by Moody's Analytics. Mid-paying industries have contributed just 22 percent of this year's job gain.

"The jobs that are being created are not generating much income," Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA, wrote in a note to clients.

That's one reason Americans' pay hasn't kept up with even historically low inflation since the Great Recession ended in June 2009. Average hourly pay fell 2 cents in July to $23.98 an hour.

Among those feeling the squeeze is Elizabeth Wilkinson, 28, of Houston. After losing a $39,000-a-year administrative job at Rice University in January, Wilkinson found work at an employment agency for $15 an hour. Yet she's had to supplement that job with part-time work as a waitress.

"This morning I put $1.35 worth of gas in my car because that is all the money that I had," Wilkinson said via email. "It's very difficult to survive on $30,000 (a year), and I am living paycheck to paycheck."

Part-time work has made up 77 percent of the job growth so far this year. The government defines part-time work as being less than 35 hours a week.

Analysts say some employers are offering part-time over full-time work to sidestep the new health care law's rule that they provide medical coverage for permanent workers. (The Obama administration has delayed that provision for a year.)

Weak economies overseas have also reduced demand for U.S. goods and, as a result, for better-paying U.S. jobs in manufacturing. Government spending cuts have taken a toll on some middle-class jobs, too.

Many employers have also discovered that they can use technology to do tasks more cheaply and efficiently than office workers used to do. And some have found that they can shift middle-class jobs to low-wage countries such as China.

By contrast, most lower-paying jobs ? from waiters and hotel maids to store clerks, bartenders and home health care aides ? can't be automated or shipped abroad.

"You're always going to have jobs in the retail sector," says Michael Evangelist, a policy analyst with the liberal National Employment Law Project, which advocates on behalf of low-wage workers.

Consider Mike Ulrich, 30, who earned a master's degree in public administration in May from the University of Colorado. Ulrich hasn't been able to find work that requires a college degree. Instead, he works at a hardware store in Spokane, Wash., earning the state's minimum wage: $9.19 an hour.

Not all July's new jobs were low-paying. Local schools hired more than 10,000 teachers and other employees. Financial firms added 15,000.

And Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, thinks concerns about the surge in part-time work might be overblown. The government's figures on part-time jobs are highly volatile, Anderson notes. The big gain this year could quickly reverse, he says.

Yet for the most part, Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital, wrote in a report last month, "the only folks engaging in meaningful hiring are doing so because labor is cheap."

The low quality of the added jobs could help explain something that has puzzled economists: How has the U.S. economy managed to add an average of roughly 200,000 jobs a month this year even though it grew at a tepid annual rate below 2 percent in the first half of the year?

Some are proposing an answer: Perhaps a chronically slow-growth economy can't generate many good-paying jobs ? but can produce lots of part-time or lower-wage retail and restaurant work.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, recalls that the robust economic growth of the late `90s generated millions of middle-class jobs. And it pushed unemployment so low that short-staffed companies were forced to convert part-time jobs into full-time ones.

"Faster growth would fix things," Swonk says. "That's the magic fairy dust."

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/part-time-work-july-jobs_n_3700930.html

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Harris Chooses Miami Over Florida & Ohio State

Al Golden continues working his magic as the Miami Hurricanes picked up their twenty-fourth verbal commitment on Tuesday. Winter Park defensive end Trent Harris has pledged his allegiance to The U.

The 6-foot-2, 241-pound Harris is a three- or four-star prospect, depending on the recruiting site, and chose Miami over Florida and Ohio State. Harris grew up a lifelong Gators fan, his room decked in orange and blue and now in need of a full-on makeover as UM seemed the better overall decision.

?It was very difficult ? extremely difficult,? Harris said. ?I liked Florida since I was little, but I?m not little any more. I needed to make a grown man?s choice of what to do and what will be best to further my abilities. Florida just wasn?t going to work out for me and so Miami is the best choice.?

Harris had fifty tackles and eleven sacks as a junior last season and before narrowing his top three to Miami, Florida and Ohio State, also had Georgia, Alabama and Florida State on his radar.

Always a good day when the Canes pick up a good one. Even better when the Gators and Buckeyes lose out, too. Greg Cote of the Miami Herald touched on Golden?s reel-in earlier:

?Trent Harris, a highly recruited defensive end from Winter Park, made official his oral commitment to UM for 2014, and it was significant both literally and, I thought, symbolically.

Literally because the kid is a four-star recruit who ultimately picked UM over Florida ? whose colors and mementoes fill his bedroom ? and Urban Meyer?s Ohio State, where his position coach would have been recent NFL Patriots star Mike Vrabel.

?I liked Florida since I was little, but I?m not little anymore,? Harris said Monday. ?I needed to make a grown man?s choice.?

The 22 schools that offered him a scholarship also included reigning champion Alabama. If Nick Saban wants you, you are really good. You are blue-chip, national-caliber good.

Instead, Harris puts his faith and future in Miami, despite the Nevin Shapiro-related investigation that has caused two seasons of self-imposed penalties and could bring yet more sanctions when the NCAA finally concludes the case within the next two weeks.

Harris? decision so close to the NCAA decision makes it a symbolic victory for Miami as well, a final verification that Golden has navigated the program through this.?

The tide is finally turning in Coral Gables. Finally. Welcome to The U, Trent.

Source: http://blog.allcanes.com/trent-harris-defensive-end-orlando-winter-park-florida-gators-ohio-state-buckeyes-miami-hurricanes

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?Flossing?: Fox News? Todd Starnes Rips President Obama For Golfing On His Birthday Weekend

Fox New radio host Todd Starnes became just the latest conservative to blast President Obama for having the nerve to think he has a place on the golf course, even on his birthday weekend. Referencing the recent international terrorism alert, Starnes tweeted ?There?s a worldwide terror alert, 21 embassies are shutting down ? but Obama?s got time to play golf today,? and hashtagged another tweet about the outing with the hip-hop slang term ?flossing,? which refers to an ostentatious display of material wealth.

Although substantive criticism is clearly not Starnes? point, it seems illogical to list everything that has already been done to mitigate the threat, and then observe what the President has time for, rather than list the things he thinks have been left undone on the President?s birthday weekend. It?s like telling your kids ?Your room is spotless and the lawn is mowed, yet you have time to play Nintendoes??

Starnes doesn?t stop at that, though, also taking pains to separate out certain members of the golfing party. From Twitter:

There?s a worldwide terror alert, 21 embassies are shutting down ? but Obama?s got time to play golf today.

Obama is whacking balls with Reggie Love today! #flossing

Among those golfing with Obama today are ? Muhammed Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid.

According to pool reports, the President is golfing with eleven other people:

Rolling up to Andrews at 8:36 am. We hear it?s quite the birthday golf party.
Three groups of four:

Greg Orme
Marty Nesbit
Hasan Chandoo
Bobby Titcomb
Mike Ramos
Wahid Hamid
Eric Whitaker
Reggie Love
Sam Kass
Laurent Delanney
Marvin Nicholson

The President?s opponents have tried to make an issue of several of President Obama?s leisure activities, partially in response to their own misunderstanding of a popular knock against former President George W. Bush, one which seems to be a tailor-made refutation of Starnes? criticism. In a moment made famous by filmmaker Michael Moore, then-President Bush spoke with reporters about terrorist attacks in the Middle East that had claimed the lives of a dozen Israelis:

Conservatives will often point to this moment in Moore?s Fahrenheit 911 as all the justification they need to criticize President Obama for golfing, but they miss the entire point of that moment, as Bush did. It doesn?t matter that he was golfing, he could have been playing hacky-sack or clearing brush, or even doing something useful. The problem with that clip is the way he instantly pivots, from sincere concern about terrorism to cheerful braggadocio about a mundane task. ?This is tragic, just tragic. Now watch me cannonball!?

As CBS News? Mark Knoller noted on the occasion of President Obama?s 100th presidential golf game in June of 2012, President Bush claimed, in a 2008 interview, to have quit golf in August of 2003, because he thought ?playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.?

This is typically backwards Republican thinking. Faced with the poor optics of sending thousands of Americans to be maimed and killed while the President plays golf, Bush elected to quit the golf, and continue the dying and maiming. As it turns out, though, he didn?t actually quit the golf, at least not when and why he said he did:

Whatever you thought of George W. Bush?s golfing habits, no one ever accused him, or his golf partners, of ?flossing,? and no conservative, including Starnes, had anything at all to say when Bush played golf (or when Bill Clinton played at a whites-only club), and why would they, right? An avid golfer himself, Todd Starnes is well-qualified to decide who belongs on a golf course, and who doesn?t.

Source: http://www.mediaite.com/online/flossing-fox-news-todd-starnes-rips-president-obama-for-golfing-on-his-birthday-weekend/

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A new book considers the interaction between public spaces and drug use

Public release date: 2-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Megan Beech
m.beech@hud.ac.uk
01-484-473-053
University of Huddersfield

Influenced by the theories of Pierre Bourdieu and with a strong focus on harm reduction, Habitus and Drug Using Environments provides a sociological analysis of public environments affected by injecting drug use.

Drawing on ethnographic research across several locations, this book offers an account of the social organisation of public settings used for the preparation and administration of illicit drugs. The book contains interviews with both injecting drug users and those whose employment is directly affected by public injecting drug use.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-08/uoh-anb080213.php

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Hillsong Church's Creative Pastor & worship singer Annie Garratt talked with TCW...

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Cory Monteith Death to Be Addressed in Third Episode of Glee Season 5

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/08/cory-monteith-death-to-be-addressed-in-third-episode-of-glee-sea/

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Ravens CB Asa Jackson suspended for PED use

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) ? Baltimore Ravens cornerback Asa Jackson has been suspended without pay for the first eight games of the regular season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

"My reaction to that is that you've got to follow the rules," coach John Harbaugh said after practice Friday. "If you don't follow the rules, you get suspended. That's a fair rule, there's no place for that, and he's getting what he deserves.

"As far as what it does to our corner depth, that's one less corner that we have. We'll be missing Asa those first eight weeks. Whether he'll back after that, time will tell."

Jackson received a four-game suspension as a rookie last season for the same reason. This suspension is for eight games because it's his second violation.

Drafted in the fifth round out of Cal Poly, Jackson played in only two games last season for the Super Bowl champions.

Jackson will be eligible to return to the active roster Nov. 4 after the team's game against Cleveland on Nov. 3. He is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ravens-cb-asa-jackson-suspended-ped-205803611.html

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iPhone 5S release date, news, rumours and price

The iPhone 5S is likely to be the next iPhone to emerge from the Apple labs, and we're getting dangerously close to its release. But how will it differ from the current iPhone 5? Here?s everything we currently know about the next-gen model.

iPhone 5S ? Release Date

The latest reports online suggest that the iPhone 5S will be announced on 18 September, alongside a new, cheaper edition of the iPhone variously dubbed the iPhone 5c, the iPhone lite and a half-dozen other unlikely names besides.?

This news comes from website CurrentEditorials, citing an unnamed source.

Just days before, Apple blog iFun wrote that the iPhone 5S would be launched on 6 September, a couple of weeks earlier.

There?s no consensus about the iPhone 5S?s exact release date, then, but virtually all sources agree that the next iPhone will be announced in September.

This sits happily with iPhone release timings in recent years. The iPhone 5 launched on 12 September 2012, and went on sale a week and a half later on 21 September.

Spotlight on tech ? iPhone 5S fingerprint reader

Earlier this year, it was rumoured that the iPhone 5S will feature a fingerprint scanner as a method of identification. Although initially dismissed by many as an unlikely addition, unearthed iOS 7 code suggests it might actually exist.

The fingerprint reader ? if real ? will be built into the home button, letting it slide into the phone without forcing any drastic changes in the phone?s design.?

The code suggests the iPhone 5S will ask you to scan your right thumb during the setup process, which will them be used to identify you ? presumably cutting down the passwords and such you?ll have to enter.

It could also be used to load discrete user profiles, which would be particularly useful for iPhones that?ll be used by kids as well as adults. Nice idea, Apple. If it works, that is.

iPhone 5S Design

History suggests the iPhone 5S will have roughly the same design as the iPhone 5. The iPhone 3GS looked a lot like the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4S was the dead spit of the iPhone 4. Isn?t it a bit soon for a full iPhone redesign?

Some sources do not agree. Commmercial Times suggests the iPhone 5S will have a 4.3-inch screen ? 0.3 inches up from the iPhone 5. However, there are plenty of conflicting rumours that suggest Apple will stick with the 4-inch form.

For example, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the iPhone 5S?s design will be near-identical to the current model.

iPhone 5S Camera

Several rumours that surfaced in 2013 suggest that the iPhone 5S will, like its key rival the Samsung Galaxy S4, have a 13-megapixel camera sensor.

If these turn out to be true, it?s also likely that the iPhone 5S will use the Sony sensor seen in several of this year?s top phones. By itself, this is not particularly interesting ? both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S used 8-megapixel Sony sensors.

What?s more interesting is what surrounds the sensor. The iPhone 5S is rumoured to have a dual-LED flash, where most phones have simpler single-LED flashes, and an f/2.0 lens.

This figure is the lens?s f-stop rating, and roughly tells you how much light it can take in relative to its peers ? often called the ?speed? of the lens. We?ve only used one camera with a faster lens ? the f/1.9 Lumia 720.

iOS 7 will also change the style of the iPhone camera app ? rather than being completely stripped-back, the iPhone 5S camera will offer a bunch of new features. That includes filters, which you?d? currently have to get from a separate app.

iPhone 5S CPU

Leaked photos posted by iLounge suggest that the iPhone 5S CPU won?t be a simple upgrade from the A6 chip used in the iPhone 5. But what does that mean for the next-gen model?

The iPhone 5 uses a rather unimpressive-sounding dual-core 1.3GHz processor, which seems a little weak compared with the top Android phones.

A quad-core processor is likely, and an upgrade from 32nm architecture to 28nm is also possible.

iPhone 5S Screen

Whether the iPhone 5S has a 4-inch screen ? most likely ? or a 4.3-inch display, the top rumour surrounding it is that it?ll use an IGZO panel. This is a new-ish technology from Sharp that?s designed for both high pixel density and great power consumption. Both of these are pretty important for a phone.

Few phones have used an IGZO display so far, the most famous being the Asus Padfone 2 - hardly a smartphone superstar.

iPhone 5S Battery

Leaked photos that show what appears to be the iPhone 5S with its rear casing removed, revealing a 5.92Whr unit. This is just a little more powerful than the 5.45Whr battery of the iPhone 5, but if coupled with the power saving features of an IGZO screen then battery life could be substantially improved.

It?s a spec that supports the idea that the iPhone 5S will have the same screen size as the current model.

Early Impressions
The iPhone 5S is likely to be an important, but hardly earth-shattering upgrade to the iPhone 5. Improvements to most elements, including camera and CPU are likely. ?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TRVNews/~3/jpsSjEj-FdI/iphone-5s-release-date-news-rumours-and-price

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Pre-caffeine tech: Future tech, Pee Wee Herman

Technology

Helen A.S. Popkin NBC News

17 hours ago

The Final Moments of Karl Brant

Our pre-caffeine roundup is a collection of the hottest, strangest, and most amusing stories of the morning.

A British lawmaker who was subjected to rape and death threats on Twitter has said those responsible should be prosecuted in the name of free speech.

Meanwhile, the United Nations investigators hoped they would get some help from Facebook when they asked to see information on suspected pirates operating in Somalia. But Facebook refused.

Oh! And guess what: A federal court once again found that? cops don?t need a warrant for cellphone location data.

And that Bradley Manning verdict? Still bad news for the press?

Divided as we may be on the right and wrong places to wear Google Glass, that tech is also reaching our four-legged friends.

Amazon's popular Kindle Fire tablets are slated for a major update say anonymous sources: New screens, better build quality, and an internal overhaul should bring the devices more in line with the latest from Google and Apple.

Speaking of Apple, here's a patent that reveals a three-lens, three-sensor iPhone camera.

And Microsoft patented a futuristic transparent laptop display.

Tom Friedman a modern-day Ayn Rand? Regarding his recent AirBnB column, "the NY Times columnist idealizes the Internet's winner-take-all economy while overlooking real-world concerns."

In closing: A Dark, Brilliant Short Film? Starring Pee Wee Herman.

Compiled by Helen A.S. Popkin, who invites you to join her on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/2f635b4a/sc/7/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cpre0Ecaffeine0Etech0Efuture0Etech0Epee0Ewee0Eherman0E6C10A80A5958/story01.htm

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WikiLeaks on Manning verdict: 'Extremism'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange branded Pfc. Bradley Manning's espionage conviction an episode of "national security extremism" while other supporters expressed relief that he was acquitted of the most serious charge. Among Manning's critics, House intelligence officials said justice was served.

From the courtroom to world capitals, people absorbed the meaning of a verdict Tuesday that cleared the soldier of a charge of aiding the enemy, which would have carried a potential life sentence, but convicted him on other counts that, together, could also mean a life behind bars. Manning faces up to 136 years in prison if given maximum penalties in a sentencing hearing that starts Wednesday.

In Washington, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Intelligence Committee joined in a statement declaring "justice has been served today."

"Manning harmed our national security, violated the public's trust, and now stands convicted of multiple serious crimes," said Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the House Intelligence committee, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat.

Assange, whose website served as the conduit for exposing Manning's spilled U.S. secrets to the world, saw nothing to cheer in the mixed verdict.

"It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism," he told reporters at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, which is sheltering him. "This has never been a fair trial."

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist, commentator and former civil rights lawyer who first reported Edward Snowden's leaks of National Security Agency surveillance programs, said Manning's acquittal on the charge of aiding the enemy represented a "tiny sliver of justice."

And Christian Stroebele, a German lawmaker for the opposition Green Party, tweeted, "Manning has won respect by uncovering the U.S.'s murderous warfare in Iraq."

But the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said the verdict is a warning to whistleblowers, "against whom the Obama administration has been waging an unprecedented offensive," and threatens the future of investigative journalism because intimidated sources might fall quiet.

Another advocate of less government secrecy, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, questioned whether the implications will be so dire, given the extraordinary nature of the Manning case.

"This was a massive hemorrhage of government records, and it's not too surprising that it elicited a strong reaction from the government," Aftergood said.

"Does that mean that every leak from every journalist is likely to do the same?" he asked. "No it doesn't. Most journalists are not in the business of publishing classified documents, they're in the business of reporting the news, which is not the same thing. This is not good news for journalism, but it's not the end of the world, either."

Daniel Ellsberg, whose sensational leak of the Pentagon papers in the early 1970s exposed U.S. government lies about the Vietnam War, said Manning's acquittal on aiding the enemy limits the chilling consequences of the WikiLeaks case on press freedoms.

"American democracy just dodged a bullet, a possibly fatal bullet," Ellsberg said. "I'm talking about the free press that I think is the life's blood of the democracy."

Outside the courtroom, Manning supporters gave his lawyer, David Coombs, a round of applause and shouted "thank you." But they also pressed him on what the verdict meant for the soldier's fate.

"Today is a good day," Coombs said, "but Bradley is by no means out of the fire."

Manning acknowledged giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, and video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. He said during a pretrial hearing he leaked the material to expose U.S military "bloodlust" and diplomatic deceitfulness but did not believe his actions would harm the country.

His defense portrayed him as a naive but well-intentioned figure. Prosecutors branded him an anarchist and traitor.

Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, welcomed the outcome.

"Bradley Manning endangered the security of the United States and the lives of his own comrades in uniform when he intentionally disclosed vast amounts of classified data," he said. "His conviction should stand as an example to those who are tempted to violate a sacred public trust in pursuit of notoriety, fame, or their own political agenda."

Many supporters in and outside the courtroom wore black T-shirts with "truth" on them to show they consider him a whistleblower just trying to expose government misconduct.

"The government's priorities are upside down," Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy for Amnesty International, said at the scene.

Officials have "refused to investigate credible allegations of torture and other crimes under international law despite overwhelming evidence," Brown said, but "decided to prosecute Manning, who it seems was trying to do the right thing ? reveal credible evidence of unlawful behavior by the government."

"It seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future," said Ben Wizner of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project.

Overseas, Anatoly Kucherena, the Russian lawyer who's been working with Snowden, merely said: "All cases are individual. We shouldn't take the Manning case and compare it to Snowden."

___

Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London, Donna Cassata in Washington, and David Dishneau and Pauline Jelinek in Fort Meade, Md., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-manning-verdict-extremism-175700015.html

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Union J to bring out range of dolls in January

Taking the whole 'Carry You' thing a bit far isn't it?

Before we even start discussing this, let's all just admit something first - most of us have got a One Direction doll sitting in our bedrooms and no, we shall no longer be ashamed of it. And considering our Louis figure is just *so* 2011 with it's stripes and chinos, thank God there's going to be some new boyband dolls hitting shelves soon in the form of Union J.

Yep, if you've found yourself wondering just what JJ's tatts would look like in miniature form, or how George's hair could handle being transformed into shiny plastic than WONDER NO MORE, because in a matter of months you'll have all your answers to these essential questions.

Coming out in January, just in time to lift our Christmas blues, Union J will be treating us to some collectable dolls, accessories, games and puzzles and suddenly, we've got an amazing new reason to bring puzzles back into fashion.

'Collectable' dolls eh? Well as much as we'd love to keep Josh and his quiffy goodness in mint condition in his little plastic box, we have a sneaky suspicion he'll be busy having a few hair wars with miniature Zayn Malik while Jaymi and Louis get into a heated sass-off. OHH IT'S GOING TO BE GOOD.

It looks like those Union J lads will be having a bit of a busy Winter, seeing as they'll be taking their Magazines and TV screens tour around the UK from December and leaving a trail of sobbing girls in their wake - us included.

But what do you think? Can't wait to get your hands on a George Shelley of your own? Excited to see what they'll be wearing? WE ARE. Comments please...

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sugarscape/~3/TkvT7ceHBjc/union-j-bring-out-range-dolls-january

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