It was only at this year's I/O that Google introduced a new feature it calls Auto Awesome, which lets you edit your photos in Google+ and even create your own GIFs. The company's not done enhancing this ability, however, as Vic Gundotra has announced that video capability is coming to the tool as ...
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Photo by Tanushree Punwani/Reuters
Earlier this month, responding to the wave of news about Indian men fatally gang-raping a 23-year-old student, of Indian children being lured with chocolate and then sexually assaulted, and of Western women in study-abroad programs suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after repeatedly being groped and harassed by Indian men, Lavanya Sankaran published an essay in the New York Times titled “The Good Men of India.”
Let me introduce the Common Indian Male, a category that deserves taxonomic recognition: committed, concerned, cautious; intellectually curious, linguistically witty; socially gregarious, endearingly awkward; quick to laugh, slow to anger. Frequently spotted in domestic circles, traveling in a family herd. He has been sighted in sari shops and handbag stores, engaged in debating his spouse’s selection with the sons and daughters who trail behind. There is, apparently, no domestic decision that is not worthy of his involvement.
Thank you for the introduction, but was there ever a question that men in India are capable of good acts? Is Sankaran explaining to her audience, as an adult would to small children, that there are different kinds of people in the world and that yes, Virginia, Indians are people too?
Sankaran’s need to point out the sunny obvious is only slightly less offensive than her undercutting of the seriousness of India’s problems. At best, she writes of the Good Man’s doting domesticity, “the results, in women’s lives, speak for themselves.” But “[a]t its excessive worst, this sensibility can produce annoyances: a sentimentalized addiction to Mummy; concern that becomes judgmental and stifling; and a proud or oversensitive emotional landscape.”
If that’s the excessive worst, then Sankaran’s daddy kept her more sheltered than the rest of us. Because we know that the Common Indian Male is more flawed than this. True, he can be all the wonderful things Sankaran lists. But he also can be timid, and sometimes even craven.
To understand what I’m talking about, observe the Common Indian Male’s interaction with the Common Indian Child. It’s India’s dirty little not-so-secret: Fifty-three percent of children—boys and girls equally—are victims of sexual abuse, ranging from child grooming and forcible kissing to petting and penetration. That’s according to a 2007 study by the Indian Government of nearly 12,500 children from across India. Half the abused children in the study were preyed upon by “persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility.”
He tugged my hand across his body until I was splayed on his chest. I remember thinking, is he trying to hug me?
Contrary to Sankaran’s classist argument, this is not an issue of lower classes skewing results. In a 2006 study conducted by the nongovernmental organizations Save the Children and Tulir on 2,211 schoolchildren from Chennai, “the prevalence of sexual abuse in upper and middle class was found to be proportionately higher than in lower and lower-middle class.”
Just how bad is it in the upper echelons of society? A 1998 study by RAHI (Recovery And Healing from Incest), a Delhi-based NGO, surveyed 600 English-speaking women from upper and middle classes and found that 76 percent of respondents had been sexually abused when they were children. Forty percent of those abuses were committed by a family member, typically an uncle, a cousin, or an older brother.
Indian men masquerading as trusted friends or relatives prey upon Common Indian Children. These men are not what Sankaran describes as “feral men, untethered from their distant villages, divorced from family and social structure … denied access to regular female companionship.” These men are deep within a family’s framework.
I know this because I was once a Common Indian Child.
I was 12, on my first trip to India without my parents. A group of cousins and I were dutifully visiting some elders—summers in India are scorching, so I broke away from the group and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. I crossed the living room, and there he was, lying on a bench swing, gently swaying, reading a newspaper. He saw me, pushed his reading glasses up on his head and his face lit up. He said my name, held out his hand. Thinking he wanted a handshake, I put my hand in his.
He said something then, something like how it was good to see me after so long, and how were my parents? He tugged my hand across his body until I was splayed on his chest. I remember thinking, is he trying to hug me? I started to answer. His hand cupped my breast through my thin kameez, his finger stroked over my nipple.
I froze. I’d been drilled to obey my elders, but this was wrong wrong wrong, and I knew it. I should have screamed bloody murder. I should have roused the whole family. I should have made a scene. Instead I made small talk for a while until the conversation faded and I could escape.
Grounds crew members dismantle the batting cage after the Boston Red Sox's workout at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. The Red Sox host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of baseball's World Series on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Grounds crew members dismantle the batting cage after the Boston Red Sox's workout at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. The Red Sox host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of baseball's World Series on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Championship banners hang on the facade of Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, including the one from 1918, which was the last World Series that the Boston Red Sox clinched at home. The Red Sox will face the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the World Series on Wednesday in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
A security guard keeps an eye on things outside Gate D at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. If the Boston Red Sox are able to win the baseball World Series at at the stadium, police and city officials want to make sure fans celebrate responsibly. Boston holds a 3-2 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals with Game 6 and if necessary Game 7 scheduled at Fenway for Wednesday and Thursday nights. Police plan to put extra patrols on duty to guard against any unruly celebrations. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell speaks during a news conference before a workout at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. The Red Sox are scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of baseball's World Series on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz walks into the dugout after a workout at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. The Red Sox are scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of baseball's World Series on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
BOSTON (AP) — Generations of New Englanders are preparing. Practically no one alive can remember seeing such an event unfold: The Boston Red Sox could win a World Series title on the celebrated green grass at Fenway Park.
Ted Williams never did it. Not Carl Yastrzemski. Not Carlton Fisk. Not even Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, who ended The Curse nearly a decade ago but did it on the road.
When the Red Sox last won a World Series at home, Babe Ruth, Carl Mays and Harry Hooper were the stars in September 1918, a season cut short by World War I. Ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2, the Red Sox have two chances to reward their faithful.
"It would be awesome," said John Lackey, who starts Game 6 on Wednesday night against Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha.
Fenway was just a kid the last time the Red Sox won a title at home, a modern 6-year-old ballpark. A crowd of 15,238 watched the Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 to win the Series in six games.
"It was a ball game that nobody who was present will forget. It left too many lasting impressions," Edward F. Martin wrote the following day in the Boston Globe.
That was so long ago that Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States, television hadn't been invented and the designated hitter didn't exist. There were 16 major league teams — none west of St. Louis — all games were played in the daytime and the NFL was 23 months from formation.
Now, Fenway Park is a centurion, the oldest home in the majors and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The last time a World Series Game 6 was played between Lansdowne and Van Ness Streets was in 1975, the night Fisk sent Pat Darcy's second pitch of the 12th inning high down the left-field line and waved his arms three times, urging the ball fair, before it clanked off the yellow foul pole atop the Green Monster.
"I was just wishing and hoping," Fisk recalled in 2005. "Maybe by doing it, you know, you ask something of somebody with a higher power. I like to think that if I didn't wave, it would have gone foul."
Boston needed that 7-6 win to force a seventh game against Cincinnati, and the Red Sox went on to lose the following night.
Now, they are one win from setting off a Boston Glee Party.
"With no disrespect to history or to Carlton, you know, it's an iconic video and a highlight that is shown repeatedly, and one of the more memorable swings that probably has taken place in this ballpark," Red Sox manager John Farrell said Tuesday, "but hopefully there's somebody tomorrow night that can wave their arms just the same."
Boston swept the Series in 2004 and '07, starting at home and winning titles at St. Louis and Colorado. Given the length of time since the last championship clincher at Fenway, there is a seemingly insatiable demand for the just over 38,000 tickets.
As of Tuesday evening, the cheapest of 1,600 or so ducats for sale on Stubhub.com was for standing room on the right-field roof deck for $983.75. A dugout box seat was available for $10,894.20.
"I don't know what happened in 1918, but tomorrow we're going to try and make it happen, make people proud and happy in the city of Boston and New England," David Ortiz said. "I guarantee it's going to be wild."
Ortiz's performance in the World Series has been better than Ruthian. He's batting .733 (11 for 15) with two homers, six RBIs, four walks and a sacrifice fly, and has one-third of Boston's hits.
"That's why we call him 'Cooperstown,'" Game 5 star David Ross said, "because he does Hall of Fame stuff."
While the Red Sox went through a light workout at Fenway Park on a cool autumn afternoon, the Cardinals tried to maintain their cool as they got stuck in St. Louis, joined by their families on a charter flight delayed several hours by mechanical difficulties.
"Fortunately we have plenty of food, snacks for the kids, lots of entertainment with on-board movies, and everybody travels with all their high-tech stuff," manager Mike Matheny said. "Most of these kids are pretty happy that they're not in school right now, and it's a great way to spend a day."
The plane took off about 9:10 p.m. EDT after a delay that appeared to last around 6 hours.
Farrell made a bit of news, saying Ross will get his fourth Series start behind the plate in place of slumping Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
"David has given us a spark offensively out of the position," the manager said.
Shane Victorino is expected to return to right field after missing two games due to a bad back, and Game 4 star Jonny Gomes will start in left over Daniel Nava. With the shift back to the American League ballpark, Mike Napoli returns to first base and Ortiz to designated hitter.
Playing with a foot injury, Allen Craig will be the DH for St. Louis. Trying for their second title in three seasons, the Cardinals have high confidence in Wacha, a 22-year-old rookie who has won all four of his postseason starts, allowing three earned runs in 27 innings.
"I imagine it's going to be crazy, but I'm not going to pay any attention to it," Wacha said.
Boston doesn't want the Series to reach a seventh game on Halloween night, which likely would be started by Jake Peavy, who has a 7.11 ERA in this postseason. St. Louis would start Joe Kelly, who pitched well in Game 3 but didn't get a decision.
Ortiz, the last remaining veteran from the 2004 title, wants to make sure fans can start the hullabaloo.
"Hopefully this will get over tomorrow, and they'll get to enjoy it like they always do," he said. "Party time."
NOTES: Forty-one of 62 previous teams with 3-2 World Series leads won the title, including 24 in Game 6. ... Since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates won Games 6 and 7 in Baltimore, six straight teams have failed to overcome 3-2 deficits on the road.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-10-29-World%20Series/id-be1aa0ae381044f6a76aa59ec24bd135
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/omaDITSDp6E/From left, National Security Agency Deputy Director Chris Inglis, National Security Agency director Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Deputy Attorney General James Cole, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, before the House Permanent Intelligence Committee hearing on potential changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
From left, National Security Agency Deputy Director Chris Inglis, National Security Agency director Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Deputy Attorney General James Cole, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, before the House Permanent Intelligence Committee hearing on potential changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper listens at right as National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on potential changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, file photo, a man speaks on a cell phone in the business district of Madrid. A Spanish newspaper published a document Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, that it said shows the U.S. National Security Agency spied on more than 60 million phone calls in Spain in one month alone — the latest revelation about alleged massive U.S. spying on allies. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)
Graphic shows country-by-country look allegations of spying by the U.S. National Security Agency and reaction; 3c x 5 inches; 146 mm x 127 mm;
From left, National Security Agency Deputy Director Chris Inglis, National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Deputy Attorney General James Cole, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on potential changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with anger over revelations about U.S. spying at home and abroad, members of Congress suggested Tuesday that programs the Obama administration says are needed to combat terrorism may have gone too far.
The chairman of the House intelligence committee said it might help to disclose more about National Security Agency operations but barring NSA from collecting millions of Americans' phone records would scrap an important tool.
"We can't ask the FBI to find terrorists plotting an attack and then not provide them with the information they need," said Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. He spoke at the start of a hearing where top intelligence officials were testifying, including National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander.
A bipartisan plan introduced Tuesday would end the NSA's massive sweep of phone records, allowing the government to seek only records related to ongoing terror investigations. Critics both at home and abroad have derided the program as intrusive and a violation of privacy rights.
The proposal comes as President Barack Obama and key lawmakers are saying it's time to look closely at surveillance programs that have angered many Americans and now are drawing complaints from world leaders because of reports that their cellphone conversations were monitored.
The White House is considering ending eavesdropping on friendly foreign leaders, a senior administration official said.
The administration tried to tamp down damage Tuesday from the months-long spying scandal — including the most recent disclosure that the National Security Agency had monitored the cellphone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A final decision about listening in on allies has not been made, the senior official said.
The White House also faces complaints at home about the NSA collecting millions of Americans' phone records and sweeping up Internet traffic and email. The Obama administration defends those programs as important in the fight against terrorism.
Asked about the reports of eavesdropping on world leaders, Obama said in a television interview that the U.S. government is conducting "a complete review of how our intelligence operates outside the country." Obama declined to discuss specifics or say when he learned about the spying operations.
"What we've seen over the last several years is their capacities continue to develop and expand, and that's why I'm initiating now a review to make sure that what they're able to do doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing," he said Monday on the new TV network Fusion.
A second U.S. official said Obama did not know the NSA was monitoring Merkel's communications until after his visit to Germany in June. The official said information about the surveillance of foreign leaders emerged in the course of the White House's broader review of spying programs, triggered by media reports based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and insisted on anonymity.
The White House says the United States isn't currently listening to Merkel's conversations and won't do so in the future.
On Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner said there should be a thorough review of intelligence gathering, bearing in mind the responsibility to keep Americans safe from terrorism and the nation's obligations to allies.
"We have to find the right balance here," said Boehner, R-Ohio. "And clearly, we're imbalanced."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for a "total review of all intelligence programs" following the Merkel allegations. In a statement, the California Democrat said the White House had informed her that "collection on our allies will not continue."
The senior administration official said that statement was not accurate, but added that some unspecified changes already had been made and more were being considered, including terminating the collection of communications from friendly heads of state. That official also was not authorized to divulge information about the program by name and insisted on anonymity.
Reports based on new leaks from Snowden indicate that the NSA listened in on Merkel and 34 other foreign leaders.
"With respect to NSA collection of intelligence on leaders of U.S. allies — including France, Spain, Mexico and Germany — let me state unequivocally: I am totally opposed," Feinstein said.
In response to the revelations, German officials said Monday that the U.S. could lose access to an important law enforcement tool used to track terrorist money flows.
Other longtime allies have also expressed their displeasure about the U.S. spying on their leaders.
Spain's prosecutor's office said Tuesday it has opened a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a crime was committed by NSA surveillance. French President Francois Hollande said the United States should not be eavesdropping on its allies but that U.S. officials were cooperating with Europe on fixing the problem.
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's office on Tuesday confirmed a report in De Standaard that at his most sensitive meetings, the premier is asking government ministers to leave their mobile phones outside the room.
As possible leverage, German authorities cited last week's non-binding resolution by the European Parliament to suspend a post-9/11 agreement allowing the Americans access to bank transfer data to track the flow of terrorist money. A top German official said Monday she believed the Americans were using the information to gather economic intelligence apart from terrorism and said the agreement, known as SWIFT, should be suspended.
European Union officials who are in Washington to meet with lawmakers ahead of White House talks said U.S. surveillance of their people could affect negotiations over a U.S.-Europe trade agreement..
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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Kimberly Dozier at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier
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Associated Press writers Connie Cass, Donna Cassata and Kimberly Dozier in Washington, Frank Jordan, Geir Moulson and Robert H. Reid in Berlin, Juergen Baetz in Brussels, Ciaran Giles, Jorge Sainz and Alan Clendenning in Madrid and Sarah DiLorenzo in Paris contributed to this report.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-29-NSA%20Surveillance/id-b31ec4d207974c3b8de13e7785636438Taking care of promotional duties for her upcoming film "About Time," Rachel McAdams stopped by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Tuesday (October 29).
The 34-year-old actress donned a striped dress as she sat down and chatted with the host about her favorite Halloween memories, which include passing out candy to teenagers who recognized her as "Mean Girls'" Regina George.
"I have to dress up now to give out candy because I was giving out candy one year and some teenage girls came to the door," Miss McAdams explained. "And they were like, 'Are you Regina George from Mean Girls?' and I was like 'No... Just no. That's so weird that you're asking me that.'"
Ellen then joked, "'You don't know where I live now. I'm in someone else's house doing this.' And you had to move the next day?"
Rachel continued, "So I had to try to find whatever was in my closet [to wear]. I think I came up with a ski bunny [costume]. I basically put on my snowsuit and a hat and sunglasses."
The Internet Archive's new Historical Software Archive brings old software to your browser through the magic of JSMESS emulation.
The Internet Archive has protected and preserved old software for a while now; archivist Jason Scott claimed back in April that the organization possessed the largest historical software collection in the world.
[ Find out the latest craziness in the world of technology: Read InfoWorld's Notes from the Field blog or newsletter by our man on the street, Robert X. Cringely. ]
Software is so transient, though. It's sometimes hard to get a program from 2003 to run on a modern machine, let alone a program from 1983. For most people it wouldn't be worth the trouble to, as the Internet Archive puts it, "track down the hardware and media to run [old software], or download and install emulators and acquire/install cartridge or floppy images as you boot up the separate emulator program, outside of the browser."
An easier way
The Historical Software Archive, announced Friday, changes that. There's no need to fuss with stand-alone emulators. Instead, the Internet Archive runs MESS (short for Multi Emulator Super System) with Javascript in Chrome, Firefox, Safari -- any modern browser.
"Turning computer history into a one-click experience bridges the gap between understanding these older programs and making them available in a universal fashion," says the Internet Archive's announcement. "Acquisition, for a library, is not enough -- accessibility is where knowledge and lives change for the better."
Of course, this isn't the first time someone has emulated old software in a browser. Look around the Internet, and you'll find plenty of sites that allow you to play Gameboy and SNES games.
The difference, presumably, is twofold. One is that the Historical Software Archive is for all types of software -- not just games. Go ahead and check out Apple Presents the IIc, a series of instructional guides that introduced users to their new computer. Then make a spreadsheet in VisiCalc, the 1979 Apple II program that pioneered the computer spreadsheet.
The second difference is legality. The Internet Archive is a reputable organization with a clean website and a name you can trust. That site where you found all those Nintendo ROMs? Yeah, not so much.
The unfortunate problem with legality, however, is it limits your scope. Hopefully more developers will open up their software for emulation through the archive, as it has the potential to make preservation more than an academic exercise. The full list is only 28 programs for now, but expect that number to grow soon.
For now you can always play E.T., the Atari game that reputedly caused the video game industry to crash and burn in 1983 -- and you can understand why E.T. caused the video game industry to crash. Spoiler: it's abysmal.
