Obama heads to South Africa with 'personal hero' Mandela on his mind

President Obama is heading to South Africa from Senegal as part of his African tour, where Nelson Mandela's daughter says he might visit Mandela if doctors approve. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.

By Stacey Klein and Ian Johnston, NBC News

Barack Obama said Friday that he did not need a ?photo op? with Nelson Mandela, saying the ?last thing? he wanted to do was be intrusive at a time when the anti-apartheid icon?s family are concerned about his health.

However, the president did not rule out a meeting.

On Tuesday, Mandela's daughter Zindzi said that her father ?opened his eyes and gave me a smile? when she told him Obama was coming.

Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

Protesters protest the visit of President Barack Obama in Pretoria Friday. One said he viewed Obama as a "disappointment" and thought Nelson Mandela would too.

Speaking on Air Force One as he flew to South Africa from Senegal, Obama said that ?we?ll see what the situation is when we land.?

?I don't need photo op," he said. "The last thing I want to do is be intrusive at a time when the family is concerned? with Mandela?s condition.

He said the main message he wanted to deliver was ?profound gratitude? for Mandela?s leadership and to say that ?the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with him, his family and his country.?

This message could be delivered to his family and not directly to Mandela, the president said.

On Thursday, Obama said he had already had the "privilege of meeting Madiba [Mandela's clan name] and speaking to him."

"And he's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard," Obama added. "If and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."

When asked by NBC News Special Correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault?whether the family would welcome a visit by Obama, Zindzi Mandela said Thursday she wasn't aware of any formal request. However, she added that decision would be left with doctors treating the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Ahead of his arrival in Johannesburg on Friday, an anti-Obama protest broke out not far from the hospital where Mandela is being treated with one demonstrator claiming the U.S. president had been a ?disappointment.?

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View images of civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, who went from anti-apartheid activist to prisoner to South Africa's first black president.

About 200 trade unionists, student activists and South African Communist Party members gathered to protest Obama?s visit over what they called the his ?arrogant, selfish and oppressive? foreign policy.

"We had expectations of America's first black president. Knowing Africa's history, we expected more,? Khomotso Makola, a 19-year-old law student, told Reuters. He said Obama was a ?disappointment, I think Mandela too would be disappointed and feel let down.?

South African critics of Obama have focused in particular on his support for U.S. drone strikes overseas, which they say have killed hundreds of innocent civilians, and his failure to deliver on a pledge to close the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba housing terrorism suspects.

However, Nigerian painter Sanusi Olatunji, 31, had brought portraits of both Mandela and Obama to add to a growing number of flowers, tribute notes and gifts outside the hospital.

?These are the two great men of my lifetime,? he told Reuters. ?To me, Mandela is a prophet who brought peace and opportunity. He made it possible for a black man like me to live in a country that was only for whites.?

Alexander Joe / AFP - Getty Images

A group of well-wishers hold candles and a photo of Nelson Mandela on Thursday as they pray for his recovery outside a Pretoria hospital.

In the latest statement on Mandela?s condition, South African President Jacob Zuma said the 94-year-old was ?much better? on Thursday than he had been the previous night. "The medical team continues to do a sterling job," he added.

A statement issued by Zuma?s office said he and Obama would hold ?crucial bilateral talks that will take forward relations between the two countries? on Saturday.

?South Africa values its warm and mutually beneficial relationship with the United States immensely. This is a significant visit which will take political, economic and people to people relations between the two countries to a higher level, while also enhancing cooperation between U.S. and the African continent at large,? it said.

The statement noted Obama?s visit was being made as South Africa prepares to celebrate ?20 years of freedom? ? 1994 saw the first elections in the country in which all its citizens were eligible to vote. Mandela voted for the first time in his life in that year and was elected the country?s first black president, serving until 1999.

?South Africa greatly appreciates the solidarity provided by the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the United States during the struggle for liberation,? the statement said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

This story was originally published on Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:05 AM EDT

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Like Google Street View? Create one yourself with a loaner 'Trekker' pack

Google

Devin Coldewey NBC News

8 hours ago

Google

The Trekker camera backpack at work.

Google has been making much of its Street View feature coming to remote and inaccessible places like Antarctica and trails in national parks. But if you think a local feature needs the walk-through Google treatment, the company might be convinced to let you use its equipment to capture it yourself.

Google is kicking off a pilot program in which it plans to lend the "Trekker" backpack-mounted camera system to individuals and organizations who think they have something to add to the map.

It can't just be any old place, of course; Google is looking for things on the order of lush rainforests and majestic canyons. That said, there are still more of those locations than the company can look at with its own teams, so it's outsourcing the task to nature-minded people who wouldn't mind carrying a heavy pack for a few miles.

If you're interested, you just have to fill out this form explaining the place you want to catalog, whether you need special equipment or permissions, when you'd like to do it, and so on. There aren't many details beyond that, but you can expect Google to contact you if you have something that really should be documented.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

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Video: Effects of Rising Rates

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Obama clashes with African host over gay rights

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Thursday praised the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage as a "victory for American democracy" but clashed with his African host over gay rights in a sign of how far the movement has to go internationally.

Obama said recognition of gay unions in the United States should cross state lines and that equal rights should be recognized universally. It was his first chance to expand on his thoughts about the ruling, which was issued Wednesday as he flew to Senegal, one of many African countries that outlaw homosexuality.

Senegalese President Macky Sall rebuffed Obama's call for Africans to give gays equal rights under the law.

"We are still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality," Sall said, while insisting that the country is "very tolerant" and needs more time to digest the issue without pressure. "This does not mean we are homophobic."

Obama said gay rights didn't come up in their private meeting at the presidential palace, a mansion that looks somewhat similar to the White House. But Obama said he wants to send a message to Africans that while he respects differing personal and religious views on the matter, it's important to have nondiscrimination under the law.

"People should be treated equally, and that's a principle that I think applies universally," he said.

A report released Monday by Amnesty International says 38 African countries criminalize homosexuality. In four of those ? Mauritania, northern Nigeria, southern Somalia and Sudan ? the punishment is death. These laws appear to have broad public support. A June 4 Pew Research Center survey found at least nine of 10 respondents in Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria believe homosexuality should not be accepted by society.

Papi Nbodj, a 19-year-old student who stood by the road to the presidential palace to see Obama's arrival, said homosexuality is against the religious beliefs of most in Senegal.

"We are in a Muslim country, so we certainly cannot have it here," he said. "And for me it's not OK to have this anywhere in the world."

Sall sought to reassure Obama that gays are not persecuted in Senegal. But under Senegalese law, "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex" can be punished by up to five years in prison.

Ndeye Kebe, president of a human rights organization that works with homosexuals called Women's Smile, disputed Sall's contention that gays are not discriminated against.

"I know of around a dozen people who are in prison for homosexuality as we speak," she said. "There wasn't any real proof against them, but they were found guilty and they are in prison."

And as recently as February of 2008, police rounded up men suspected of being homosexual after a Senegalese tabloid published photographs of a clandestine gay wedding in a suburb of Dakar. Gays went into hiding or fled to neighboring countries, but they were pushed out of Gambia by the president's threat of decapitation.

As for Wednesday's court ruling, Obama said he's directing his administration to comb through every federal statute to quickly determine the implications of a decision that gave the nation's legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans.

He said he wants to make sure that gay couples who deserve benefits under the ruling get them quickly. Obama said he personally believes that gay couples legally married in one state should retain their benefits if they move to another state that doesn't recognize gay marriage.

"I believe at the root of who we are as a people, as Americans, is the basic precept that we are all equal under the law," he said. "We believe in basic fairness. And what I think yesterday's ruling signifies is one more step towards ensuring that those basic principles apply to everybody."

Obama also offered prayers for former South African President Nelson Mandela, who is gravely ill, ahead of Obama's planned visit to his country this weekend. Obama said he was inspired to become political active by Mandela's example in the anti-apartheid movement of being willing to sacrifice his life for a belief in equal treatment.

"I think he's a hero for the world," Obama said. "And if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."

Hundreds awaited Obama behind barricades later at Goree Island on Africa's westernmost point, where Africans were said to be have been shipped off into slavery across the Atlantic Ocean. Obama peered out at the crashing waves through the island's "Door of No Return," at first by himself and later joined by his wife, Michelle, and two daughters. Emerging minutes later, Obama said the site painted a powerful picture of the magnitude of the slave trade as he reflected on the ties many in the U.S. share with the continent.

"For an African-American, an African-American president, to be able to visit this site gives me even greater motivation in terms of human rights around the world," he said.

Obama's focus in Senegal is on the modern-day achievements of the former French colony after half a century of independence. Sall ousted an incumbent who attempted to change the constitution to make it easier for him to be re-elected and pave the way for his son to succeed him. The power grab sparked protests, fueled by hip-hop music and social media, that led to Sall's election.

"Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and one of the strongest partners that we have in the region," Obama said. "It's moving in the right direction with reforms to deepen democratic institutions."

But such people-powered democratic transitions are not always the story of the African experience. Fighting and human rights abuses limited Obama's options for stops in his first major tour of sub-Saharan Africa since he took office more than four years ago. Obama is avoiding his father's homeland, Kenya, whose president has been charged with war crimes, and Nigeria, the country with the continent's most dominant economy. Nigeria is enveloped in an Islamist insurgency and military crackdown.

Obama's itinerary in Senegal was designed to send a message, purposefully delivered in a French-speaking, Muslim-majority nation, to other Africans in countries that have not made the strides toward democracy that Senegal has. Obama also met with civil society leaders at the Goree Institute and visited the Supreme Court to speak about the importance of an independent judiciary and the rule of law in Africa's development.

___

Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi and Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar and Julie Pace in Goree Island, Senegal, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-clashes-african-host-over-gay-rights-134627018.html

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YouWeb Founder Peter Relan Sunsets His Gaming Incubator, Will Open A New Company Building Studio Soon

Peter Relan is best known for his gaming and mobile incubator YouWeb, which spawned Crowdstar, Agawi, Spaceport, OpenFeint and others. Today, the serial entrepreneur is announcing that YouWeb will no longer be incubating any additional companies, and Relan will be moving on to a new venture.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/CpHiE07TcBc/

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Oil price rises toward $96 as Fed fears ease

The price of oil rose Thursday on expectations the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus campaign will stay in place despite a vow to begin scaling it back.

The official estimate of U.S. economic growth was Wednesday lowered to an annual rate of 1.8 percent for the January-March quarter, sharply down from a previous estimate of 2.4 percent. That raised hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep in place its bond buying program, which has been a boon to stock and commodity markets by lowering interest rates and weakening the dollar.

The Fed has said its $85 billion a month of government bond purchases could be scaled back starting later this year if the economy keeps improving.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 16 cents to $95.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 18 cents Wednesday to close at $95.50 per barrel.

Analysts said confidence indicators in Europe as well as speeches by Fed officials expected later in the day would provide further encouragement to markets.

"We expect more soothing comments from Fed speakers while Eurozone data will point to gradual improvement," Anthony Lam of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a commentary.

Brent crude, which is used to set prices for oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, rose 35 cents to $102.01 a barrel.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Natural gas fell 0.4 cents to $3.733 per 1,000 cubic feet.

? Heating oil rose 0.9 cents to $2.863 a gallon.

? Wholesale gasoline rose 0.6 cent to $2.723 a gallon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-price-rises-toward-96-fed-fears-ease-113223936.html

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How Aspect Ratios Have Changed Over Time Because of Movies

If you haven't learned anything interesting today, watch this fascinating history lesson on how the aspect ratios we know (16:9, 4:3) became the standard of what we see. For any film geek or ratio nerd, it's a lovely trip back into time where things can become standard by just doing it for a long time.

Read more...

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Gay rights supporters erupt in cheers over ruling

California's Proposition 8 plaintiffs, Kris Perry and Sandy Steir walk into the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States. The justices are expected to decide their first-ever cases about gay marriage Wednesday in their last session before the court's summer break. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

California's Proposition 8 plaintiffs, Kris Perry and Sandy Steir walk into the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States. The justices are expected to decide their first-ever cases about gay marriage Wednesday in their last session before the court's summer break. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Gay rights activist Bryce Romero, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, offers an enthusiastic high-five to visitors getting in line to enter the Supreme Court on a day when justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country, in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Casey Oakes, 26, of Monroe, N.J., left, Dan Choyce, 21, of Sicklerville, N.J., center left, Zach Wulderk, 19, of Hammonton, N.J., and his brother Dylan Wulderk, 22, right, wait for a ruling on same sex marriage at the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Arriving at the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, on a final day for decisions in two gay marriage cases are plaintiffs in the California Proposition 8 case. From left are, Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, plaintiffs Paul Katami, his partner Jeff Zarrillo, Sandy Stier and her partner Kris Perry, and Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

After delivering coffee to visitors to waiting to enter the Supreme Court, SCOTUS Blog interns check their smartphones for updates on the latest news as outside the court in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, as the justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. From left to right are Dan Stein, Max Mallory, and Andrew Hamm. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Supporters of same-sex marriage burst into cheers, wept openly and chanted "DOMA is Dead" outside the Supreme Court as word reached them that the justices had struck down the federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Some in the crowd hugged and others jumped up and down just after 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday when the decision was announced inside. Many were on their cell phones monitoring Twitter, news sites and blogs for the outcome. There were cheers as runners came down the steps with the ruling in hand and turned them over to reporters who quickly flipped through the pages.

Sarah Prager, 26, cried and shook, and hugged a stranger. Prager, who married her wife in Massachusetts in 2011, said she was in shock. "Oh that's so good. It's just really good," she said.

"I didn't expect DOMA to be struck down," Prager said through tears. She referred to the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Gay rights activists had argued that the law improperly denied same-sex spouses the federal benefits that heterosexual couples are granted, and the justices agreed.

Inside, the reaction was subdued.

Many of the spectators had stood in line for hours to get a seat in the packed courtroom, some even camping out overnight. Before the justices took the bench, the crowd was admonished to stay silent, and they kept quiet. As Justice Anthony Kennedy read through a summary of the decision, it became clear that the court was throwing out the federal law, and a few smiles broke out across the audience. One relieved-looking lawyer blinked back her tears.

Justice Antonin Scalia followed with his own scalding dissent, ridiculing justices in the majority for what he termed "self-aggrandizement" and demonization of anyone who opposed gay marriage as an "enemy of human decency." The other justices mostly stared ahead as he spoke.

As soon as Scalia finished, Chief Justice John Roberts announced that Scalia would be reading again, announcing the majority opinion in an unrelated case.

"I'm sorry about that ? but this is shorter," Scalia said quickly, to laughter throughout the room, before launching into a case involving a Massachusetts extortion conviction obviously of less intense interest to the crowd.

Lastly, Roberts read the court's second gay marriage decision, a narrow ruling overturning a California proposition that banned same-sex marriage. It allows the marriages to resume there but doesn't affect other states.

The expectant mood inside quickly deflated under the legalistic wording of the California decision. But when the plaintiffs in that case walked down the court's marble steps with their lawyer afterward they were met with chants of "Thank you" and "USA."

The crowd outside filled the sidewalk and spilled across the street. The vast majority were champions of gay marriage, though there was at least one person who held a sign in favor of traditional marriage. Much of the crowd waved American flags and rainbow flags and carried signs including "I (heart) my wife" and "Equality is an American value!" One man carried a closet door that towered above his head and said in part: "No more shut doors."

Lawyer David Boies, who joined with Ted Olson in urging the court to overturn Proposition 8, said outside the court that the country is closer to "true equality."

"Our plaintiffs now can go back to California and together with every other citizen of California marry the person they love," Boies told reporters.

Both couples who had challenged the law said it was a good day. Sandy Stier, who held hands with her partner Kris Perry, said she was thankful the justices will let them marry, "but that's not enough," she said, "It's got to go nationwide."

Paul Katami, another plaintiff in the case, stood before reporters outside the court and became choked up as he looked at his partner, Jeff Zarrillo.

"Today I finally get to look at the man that I love and finally say: Will you please marry me?"

The pair kissed.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko and Connie Cass on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jessicagresko and http://www.twitter.com/ConnieCass

Associated Press

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Renesas to shutter the modem business it acquired from Nokia in 2010

Today, Renesas is announcing that it's going to "discontinue" the wireless unit it acquired from Nokia. Finnish state media outlet YLE is reporting that all 808 of Renesas' employees in Finland will be let go, of which more than two-thirds are located in the northern city of Oulu. Three years ago, Nokia decided to focus on designing and manufacturing mobile phones. It sold its wireless modem division to the Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas for roughly $200 million. The idea was, with wireless modem R&D moved out of the way, the company could concentrate on developing blockbuster handsets.

Unfortunately, the sale took place half a year before Android phones outsold Symbian devices for the first time and Nokia announced that it was going to switch to Windows Phone -- this put Renesas in the awkward position of being a modem supplier to a company with collapsing sales. Nokia Siemens Networks has large offices in the same city where most of Renesas' employees are located. Though, engineers looking for a change of scenery might want to head south to Espoo where Samsung just opened its own R&D center.

Filed under: Nokia

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Source: The Wall Street Journal, YLE

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You Can Control Your iPhone with Your Head in iOS 7

Hidden inside the Accessibility settings of iOS 7 is a sneaky new way to control your iPhone (or iPad): with your head. Yep, with simple left or right head movements you can navigate your iPhone. You'll look a little bit crazy but ooh wow look at you control your iPhone invisibly.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hCxgQrPCjw4/you-can-control-your-iphone-with-your-head-in-ios-7-591970280

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Romo update adds telepresence, lets kids terrorize siblings remotely (video)

Romo first rolled into our lives via Kickstarter. Since then we've seen it return leaner and meaner, with more improvements just announced. Romotive tells us that an app update coming today brings full telepresence functionality, allowing users to log into the device from anywhere via any iOS device or PC running a Chrome browser. Setting up the telepresence should be no harder than setting up a regular call, and once you're set, you'll get two-way video and audio -- plus control of the robot (including its expressions!). This not only gives Romo new scope for (almost literally) becoming one of the family, it adds a whole host of new use cases. Want a few ideas to get you started? There's a few in the suitably chipper video past the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile

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Miley Cyrus Tweets Photo of Sister and Mother: The Baddest Bitches Around!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/miley-cyrus-tweets-photo-of-sister-and-mother-the-baddest-bitche/

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Crews gaining ground on deadly Colorado wildfire

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - Crews battling a deadly wildfire that is the most destructive on record in Colorado have contained almost half of the 15,000-acre (6,070-hectare) blaze that has incinerated nearly 500 homes outside Colorado Springs, authorities said on Saturday.

Cooler temperatures, calmer winds and a rainstorm that moved over the burn area on Friday allowed fire managers to increase the containment of the fire to 45 percent from 30 percent the day before.

"Last night, there was no growth and no more structures lost," incident commander Rich Harvey of the U.S. Forest Service told a news conference.

But the number of homes confirmed destroyed by the so-called Black Forest Fire jumped to 473 overnight as assessment crews combed through areas that have cooled, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said.

Maketa said the bulk of the homes were lost in the first 24 hours of the blaze, and voiced optimism the threat from the fire was diminishing.

"I think we're getting the upper hand," Maketa said, adding that when he toured the area, it "looked like a nuclear bomb went off."

Fueled by tinder-dry vegetation and fanned by high winds, the blaze erupted on Tuesday in a wooded area northeast of Colorado Springs.

Flames roared out of control for two days, charring a 24-square-mile (62-square-km) swath through rolling hills on the outskirts of Colorado's second-largest city.

Two people were found dead inside the garage of a home that was reduced to ashes when flames ripped through the area.

The sheriff said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but he believed it was caused by humans, because there were no lightning strikes in the area that could have sparked the blaze.

At one point, some 38,000 people were under evacuation orders. But authorities have lifted evacuation orders in some areas as the threat of the fire spreading has eased.

Next week, some displaced residents will be allowed back into neighborhoods that have been deemed safe, police said. The sheriff's office said unauthorized people found in restricted areas would be criminally charged.

More than 1,000 local, state and federal firefighters are attacking the fire from the ground and air, Harvey said, and firefighting costs have exceeded $3.5 million.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deadly-colorado-blaze-subsides-help-rain-004301910.html

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Gun control backfires? Rick Perry to lure blue-state gunmakers to Texas.

Strong gun control laws were recently passed in Connecticut and New York, so Gov. Rick Perry will visit gunmakers in both states this week to try to bring them to gun-friendly Texas.

By Mark Sappenfield,?Staff writer / June 16, 2013

Mark Malkowski, owner of Stag Arms in New Britain, Conn., talks last month about his company's newly designed Stag-22, a weapon he says will be legal in the state of Connecticut, despite new gun control laws. Gun control advocates say the move violates the spirit of the new law.

Jim Shannon/The Republican-American/AP

Enlarge

The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., have brought into high relief one of the anachronisms of the American economy: Some of the biggest and most influential makers of firearms in the United States are located in some of its bluest ? and most antigun ? states.

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That is a fact that Gov. Rick Perry (R) of Texas hopes to turn to his advantage this week.

He is scheduled to visit Colt's Manufacturing, which has been in Connecticut since 1847, and Mossberg & Sons of North Haven, Conn., the largest maker of shotguns in the US, among other manufacturers and suppliers in Connecticut and New York.

The visits are the most public move in discussions that have been ongoing for some time, officials say. "We've been reaching out to them via letters and the governor's talked on the phone to some of them," Lucy Nashed, the governor's spokeswoman, told the Connecticut Post. "This is something he's been doing for a long time ? talking to companies in different states."

Forcing the issue are sweeping gun-control measures passed first by New York then by Connecticut in response to the Sandy Hook shootings. When Connecticut lawmakers were considering the bills in March, Colt shut down manufacturing for a day and bused 400 workers to the statehouse in a show of force. Other manufacturers did the same.

?We exhausted ourselves testifying during public sessions at the state capital, reaching out to journalists, busing our employees to Hartford and more, but in the end it didn?t matter. They wrote the bill in secret,? Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms in New Britain, Conn., told Forbes.

The tone of Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) has frayed the state's relationship with gunmakers further. Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" after he signed the bill, Governor Malloy said: "What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible ? even if they are deranged, even if they are mentally ill, even if they have a criminal background. They don?t care. They want to sell guns.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/k7Zu1tNiXrs/Gun-control-backfires-Rick-Perry-to-lure-blue-state-gunmakers-to-Texas

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Nepal's lesser peaks 'still ignored'

7 June 2013 Last updated at 02:39 ET By Navin Singh Khadka Environment reporter, BBC News, Kathmandu

Nepal's years-old plan to spread out mountaineering activities across its Himalayas to ease pressure on certain mountains including Everest has had little effect, experts have said.

A third of the hundreds of peaks open to climbing see no visitors at all.

Professional mountaineering operators say one problem is a focus on renowned mountains over lesser-known peaks.

But they say a lack of infrastructure development, in particular in the far west of the country, is also to blame.

Plans to "decentralise" mountaineering and promote the western region has been confined to paper only, they say.

"We have offered our expertise and also proposed that we will bring in foreign experts to identify and promote mountains feasible for mountaineering, but the government has not been quite supportive," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, former chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), a professional body of mountaineers.

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Any climber would like to make sure that their basic necessities can be met, especially in an emergency situation when they need to be rescued from the mountains?

End Quote Ang Tshering Nepal Mountaneering Association

Government officials respond that many such ideas are pushed by private mountaineering operators only in their own business interests.

The Everest region in eastern Nepal and few mountains in the western part see most of the expedition teams, and that has raised concerns mainly among environmentalists.

Figures from Nepal's ministry of tourism figures show that the peaks Ama Dablam and Everest, both in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal, see the largest number of expeditions, more than 30 every year.

Each team on average has 12 climbers, with twice as many supporting staff including guides, porters, cooks and others.

This spring season, which ended in May, a record 512 climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepali side.

Mount Manasalu and certain peaks in the Annapurna region in western Nepal are the other most climbed mountains.

'No response'

Of the 1,310 mountains identified as appropriate for mountaineering in the Nepalese Himalayas, nearly 330 are opened for mountaineers.

But only certain mountains in the Everest and Annapurna regions see the crowds.

In a bid to get climbers in the far western region, the government has even waived the substantial climbing fees for 49 mountains in that area for many years now.

"We will continue that policy for the next five years and there will soon be a cabinet decision on it," said secretary of the tourism ministry Sushil Ghimire.

"The idea is to ease off mountaineering pressure we have seen in certain areas."

However, the current president of the NMA, Zimba Zangbu Sherpa, said the government policy had made no impact so far - and that efforts to promote peaks in the west had fallen on deaf ears.

"We have been asking the government to give us the authority to issue climbing permits for 23 unclimbed peaks in western Nepal, but there has been no response so far," he told BBC News.

"Sometimes the file containing that proposal disappears just like that within the bureaucracy - and prolonged political instability has not helped the situation."

The NMA already has the authority to issue climbing permits for 33 Himalayan peaks below 7,000 metres, many of them in the already crowded Everest and Annapurna regions.

Climbing permits for the remaining opened mountains are issued by the country's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Of the nearly 330 opened mountains, more than 100 are unclimbed and many of them are in the far west, the least developed region in the country.

"Since the region is so underdeveloped, it requires infrastructure development, including roads, airport, hotels and hospitals," said Mr Ang.

"Any climber would like to make sure that their basic necessities can be met, especially in an emergency situation when they need to be rescued from the mountains.

Operators say a lack of basic infrastructure makes mountaineering expensive in this part of the country compared to the established areas such as Everest.

While that is quite a disincentive, they say, climbers also prefer renowned mountains over lesser known ones.

"They won't get the same publicity climbing, for instance, Api mountain (in far western Nepal) that they do after reaching the summit of Ama Dablam," said Mr Ang.

He added that mountaineering agencies say unlike in the case of renowned mountains, mountaineers don't get sponsors for expeditions on little-known peaks.

"That is the reason why we have proposed to promote some mountains in the far west and provide information about them, because right now climbers have no idea even about the route.

"To gather such information and take pictures of promising peaks in the west, we have requested the government to provide long-term visas to foreign experts we intend to bring - but that is simply not happening."

Like mountaineering, Nepal's trekking industry is also highly concentrated in certain areas, mainly the Everest and Annapurna regions.

Development experts have long pointed out the regional imbalance in Nepal's trekking and mountaineering tourism.

Environmentalists say addressing that imbalance could also benefit the environment of mountains that have come under increasing human pressure.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22795439#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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