TAT reshuffle leads to union petition

The management reshuffle - the biggest change in 53 years of TAT operations - was approved by the authority's board on July 17, with the decision set to take effect on October 1.

However, the majority of the TAT's staff are not at all pleased about the move.

Of the more than TAT 900 employees at home and overseas, over 500 have expressed their disagreement about the board's decision through the TAT's private Facebook group page - and the number expressing disapproval is growing.

Yesterday, nearly 200 of them gathered at the agency's head office on Petchaburi Road, where they wore black in protest.

Before moving on to meet Somsak in the early afternoon, their letter was also submitted to Suraphon Svetasreni, the TAT governor, whom they asked to make known the criteria used for the promotions and relocations.

Suraphon, who accepted the letter and vowed to give an explanation this week, insisted the procedure had been transparent and that such changes were based on the 25 officials' ability to fit in with the work required in their new posts.

A number of management principles are involved and there are many employees competent to work at the higher levels of the TAT, which wants to be visionary and forward-looking in its management, he said.

Nattapong Sukkree, TAT U's president, said there was no political motivation behind yesterday's turnout of TAT staff.

The tourism and sports minister has the authority to revise the decision of the TAT board, chaired by Pensuda Prai-aram, he said.

Also, the union's objective was to call for transparency in the operation of the agency at the helm of the fast-changing tourism industry, and a standardised approach should be established.

Capable people are required to work in the right jobs in order to achieve Bt2.2 trillion in annual tourism revenue by 2015, which is a policy objective of the government, he added.

"In the new era of management under the 'Change' campaign launched by the TAT, if there are questions to be raised, a clear reply should be given to employees," said the union chief.

Somsak said yesterday he had no power to interfere in the board's decision, and could only intervene in the event of a serious situation that damaged the TAT's operation.

He said he would, however, ask the TAT governor about the issue, as he is the secretary of the board.

A source at the TAT said that despite what some might say, the board's decision was politically motivated.

It is obvious, the source maintained, that more than half of the people being promoted and relocated are not qualified for their new positions.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/TAT-reshuffle-leads-to-union-petition-30211106.html

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Ecuador president: Snowden can't leave Moscow

PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador (AP) ? Edward Snowden is "under the care of the Russian authorities" and can't leave Moscow's international airport without their consent, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told The Associated Press Sunday in an interview telegraphing the slim and diminishing possibility that the National Security Agency leaker will end up in Ecuador.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from the case since Snowden arrived in Russia last week. But Correa portrayed Russia as entirely the masters of Snowden's fate.

Putin insists the 30-year-old former NSA contractor remains in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport and that as long as he has not legally entered Russia, he is out of the Kremlin's control.

However, the Kremlin also said Sunday that it will take public opinion and the views of human rights activists into account when considering Snowden's case, a move that could lay the groundwork for him to seek asylum in Russia.

"This is the decision of Russian authorities," Correa told the AP during a visit to this Pacific coast city. "He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don't know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can't. At this moment he's under the care of the Russian authorities. If he arrives at an Ecuadorean Embassy we'll analyze his request for asylum."

Last week, several members of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights spoke out in support of Snowden, saying he deserved to receive political asylum in the country of his choice and should not be handed over to the United States. And a handful of protesters picketed outside the Moscow airport in what appeared to be an orchestrated demonstration on Friday, holding signs reading "Edward, Russia is your second motherland" and "Russia is behind Snowden."

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio that while Snowden is not Russia's concern, the Kremlin is aware of the viewpoints of Russian experts and representatives of human rights organizations.

"Public opinion on the subject is very rich," Peskov said in the radio interview. "We are aware of this and are taking it into account."

Correa said he had no idea Snowden's intended destination was Ecuador when he fled Hong Kong for Russia last week. He said the Ecuadorean consul in London committed "a serious error" by not consulting officials in Ecuador's capital when the consul issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. He said the consul would be punished, although he didn't specify how.

Analysts familiar with the workings of the Ecuadorean government said Correa's claims that the decision was entirely Russia's appeared to be at least partly disingenuous. They said they believed Correa's administration at first intended to host Snowden, then started back-tracking this week when the possible consequences became clearer.

"I think the government started to realize the dimensions of what it was getting itself into, how it was managing things and the consequences that this could bring," said Santiago Basabe, an analyst and professor of political sciences at the Latin American School of Social Sciences in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito. "So it started pulling back, and they'll never tell us why, but I think the alarm bells started to go off from people very close to the government, maybe Ecuador's ambassador in Washington warned them about the consequences of asylum for Snowden."

Correa said Snowden must assume responsibility if he broke U.S. laws, but added the broader legitimacy of Snowden's action must be taken into consideration. He said Ecuador would still consider an asylum request but only if Snowden is able to make it to Ecuador or an Ecuadorean Embassy to apply.

The U.S. is seeking the former NSA contractor's extradition for leaking secret documents that, among other things, detail U.S. surveillance of international online activity. On Sunday, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that classified documents taken by Snowden also revealed U.S. spies had allegedly bugged European Union offices.

Correa never entirely closed the door to Snowden, whom he said had drawn vital attention to the U.S. eavesdropping program and potential violations of human rights. But Correa appeared to be sending the message that it is unlikely Snowden will ever end up in Ecuador. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of the U.S. legal process and praised Vice President Joe Biden for what he described as a courteous and appreciated half-hour call about the Snowden case on Friday.

He similarly declined to reject an important set of U.S. trade benefits for Ecuadorean exports, again a contrast with his government's unilateral renunciation of a separate set of tariff benefits earlier in the week.

"If he really could have broken North American laws, I am very respectful of other countries and their laws and I believe that someone who breaks the law must assume his responsibilities," Correa said. "But we also believe in human rights and due process."

He said Biden had asked him to send Snowden back to the United States immediately because he faces criminal charges, is a fugitive from justice and has had his passport revoked.

"I told him that we would analyze his opinion, which is very important to us," Correa said, adding that he had demanded the return of several Ecuadoreans who are in the United States but face criminal charges at home.

"I greatly appreciated the call," he said, contrasting it with threats made by a small group of U.S. senators to revoke Ecuadorean trade privileges. "When I received the call from Vice President Biden, which was with great cordiality and a different vision, we really welcomed it a lot."

Ecuadorean officials believe Russian authorities stymied the country's efforts to approve a political asylum application from the former NSA systems analyst, according to government officials with direct knowledge of the case.

Those officials said Ecuador had been making detailed plans to receive and host Snowden. One of the officials said Russia's refusal to let Snowden leave or be picked up by Ecuadorean officials had thwarted the plans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the case by name.

One of the officials said Snowden had intended to travel from Moscow to the Ecuadorean capital of Quito. The official said Ecuador had also asked Russia to let Snowden take a commercial flight to meet Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino in Vietnam or Singapore, where Patino was on an official trip.

The Russians rejected all of Ecuador's requests to let Snowden leave Moscow, or to let an Ecuadorean government plane pick him up there, the official said.

Asked Sunday about those accounts, Correa responded, without elaborating, "We don't have long-range aircraft. It's a joke."

Snowden's path to Ecuador would have gone through Cuba, which said little about the case all week, including whether it would have allowed him to use its territory to transit.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro praised Correa's rejection of U.S. trade pressure, expressing his "sympathies" for the Ecuadorean leader in a Sunday editorial in the state press.

_______ Gonzalo Solano contributed from Quito, Ecuador. Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-president-snowden-cant-leave-moscow-145434970.html

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Egypt group: 22 million signatures against Morsi

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi armed by sticks and shields to protect from stone attack guard their protesting site at a public square outside the Rabia el-Adawiya mosque near the presidential palace in Cairo, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt's embattled Islamist president held rival sit-ins in separate parts of Cairo Saturday on the eve of opposition-led mass protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi from power. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi armed by sticks and shields to protect from stone attack guard their protesting site at a public square outside the Rabia el-Adawiya mosque near the presidential palace in Cairo, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt's embattled Islamist president held rival sit-ins in separate parts of Cairo Saturday on the eve of opposition-led mass protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi from power. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi wave his posters and national flags as they fill a public square outside of the Rabia el-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, not far from the presidential palace, during a rally in Cairo, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt's embattled Islamist president are holding rival sit-ins on the eve of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi's ouster. The demonstrations early Saturday follow days of deadly clashes in a string of cities across the country that left at least seven people dead, including an American, and hundreds injured. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi camp outside the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Morsi rallied Friday in Cairo, and both sides fought each other in the second-largest city of Alexandria, where a few people were killed ? including an American ? and tens were injured while at least five offices of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood were torched, officials said. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout anti-opposition slogans at a public square outside the Rabia el-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, not far from the presidential palace, during a rally in Cairo, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Arabic on the headband reads, "there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt's embattled Islamist president are holding rival sit-ins on the eve of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi's ouster. The demonstrations early Saturday follow days of deadly clashes in a string of cities across the country that left at least seven people dead, including an American, and hundreds injured. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A poster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi with Arabic that reads, "The end of the reign of terror," hangs on the side of the street next to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 29, 2013. As the streets once again fill with protesters eager to oust the president and Islamists determined to keep him in power, Egyptians are preparing for the worst: days or weeks of urban chaos that could turn a loved one into a victim. Households already beset by power cuts, fuel shortages and rising prices are stocking up on goods in case the demonstrations drag on. Businesses near protest sites are closing until crowds subside. Fences, barricades and walls are going up near homes and key buildings. And local communities are organizing citizen patrols in case security breaks down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) ? More than 22 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling for the country's Islamist president to step down, the youth group leading the signature campaign said Saturday on the eve of mass protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi from office.

The planned demonstrations, which could plunge Egypt once again into a dangerous round of civil unrest, reflect the growing polarization of the nation since Morsi took power, with the president and his Islamist allies in one camp and seculars, liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians on the other.

Already, clashes across a string of cities north of Cairo over the past week have left at least seven people dead, including an American, and hundreds injured, and there are deep-rooted fears in the country that Sunday's protests will turn violent and quickly spiral out of control.

On Saturday, an Associated Press reporter saw Morsi supporters at a Cairo sit-in doing military-style fitness drills, with some wearing homemade body armor and construction helmets and carrying sticks. They said they had no intention of attacking opposition protesters, and would only act in self-defense or to protect the presidential palace.

The Tamarod, or Rebel, youth movement says its petition is evidence of the widespread dissatisfaction with Morsi's administration, and has used the signature drive as the focal point of its call for millions of people to take to the streets Sunday to demand the president's ouster.

Mahmoud Badr, a Tamarod leader, told reporters Saturday a total of 22,134,460 Egyptians have signed the petition. He did not say whether there had been an independent audit of the signatures.

Morsi's supporters, who have long doubted the validity and authenticity of the collected signatures, expressed skepticism about the final count.

"How do we trust the petitions?" asked Brotherhood member Ahmed Seif Islam Hassan al-Banna. "Who guarantees that those who signed were not paid to sign?"

If authenticated, the collection of so many signatures would deal a symbolic blow to Morsi's mandate and put in stark terms the popular frustrations with an administration that critics say has failed to effectively deal with the country's pressing problems, including tenuous security, inflation, power cuts and high unemployment.

Tamarod, which began its campaign with the goal of collecting more signatures than the 13 million votes Morsi garnered in his 2012 election win, announced its final tally the day before protests that organizers vow will bring millions into the streets to push the president from power.

Morsi, meanwhile, sought to project a business-as-usual image Saturday, meeting with the defense and interior ministers to review preparations to protect the protesters and vital state facilities during Sunday's demonstrations.

Egypt has been roiled by political unrest in the two years since the uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak, but the round of protests set to kick off Sunday promises to be the largest and holds the potential to be the bloodiest yet.

In the past week alone, at least seven people have been killed in clashes between the president's supporters and opponents in cities in the Nile Delta, while on Friday protesters ransacked and torched as least five Brotherhood offices across the country.

Adding to the tension, eight lawmakers from the country's interim legislature announced their resignation Saturday to protest Morsi's policies. The 270-seat chamber was elected early last year by less than 10 percent of Egypt's eligible voters, and is dominated by Islamists who support Morsi.

With a sense of doom hanging over the country, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi last Sunday gave the president and his opponents a week to reach a compromise and warned that the military would intervene to prevent the nation from entering a "dark tunnel." It was the strongest expression of the military's discontent with conditions in the nation since Morsi took office a year ago.

In South Africa, President Barack Obama said the U.S. supports freedom of speech in Egypt and the right of protesters to peacefully assemble, and called on called on both sides in Egypt to avoid violence.

"We would urge all parties to make sure they're not engaging in violence (and) police and military are showing appropriate restraint," he said.

The opposition, feeling that Morsi may be on the ropes and frustrated by past offers of dialogue that proved to be mostly symbolic, has shown no inclination to compromise, and Morsi offered no concessions to his opponents when he addressed the nation for 2 ? hours on Wednesday.

The focus of Sunday's protests is Morsi's Ittihadiya palace in Cairo. As a precaution, the president and his family are reported to have moved into the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard, the branch of the army tasked with protecting the president and presidential palaces.

As the country waits to see what transpires Sunday, thousands of supporters and opponents of the embattled president held rival sit-ins Saturday in separate parts of the capital.

With expectations of violence running high, the military has dispatched troops backed by armored personnel carriers to reinforce military bases on the outskirts of cities expected to be flashpoints.

In Cairo, the additional forces were deployed to military facilities in the suburbs and outlying districts. Army troops are also moving to reinforce police guarding the city's prisons to prevent a repeat of the nearly half dozen jail breaks during the chaos of the 2011 uprising.

The opposition is demanding Morsi's ouster, saying he has lost his legitimacy through a series of missteps and authoritarian policies. They say early presidential elections should be held within six months of his ouster.

Hard-line Islamists loyal to Morsi have repeatedly vowed to "smash" the protesters, arguing that they were a front for loyalists of Hosni Mubarak, the autocrat ousted in Egypt's 2011 revolt, determined to undermine Morsi's rule. They also say that Morsi is a freely elected president who must serve out his four-year term before he can be replaced in an election.

Many Egyptians fear the new round of unrest could trigger a collapse in law and order similar to the one that occurred during the 2011 revolt. Already, residents in some of the residential compounds and neighborhoods to the west of the city are reporting gunmen showing up to demand protection money or risk being robbed.

The police, who have yet to fully take back the streets after they disappeared in unclear circumstances in 2011, have stepped up patrols on the outskirts of the city, ostensibly to prevent weapons and ammunition from coming into the city to be used in the case of an outbreak of violence. The army is advertising hotlines for civilians to call if they run into trouble.

In the latest reminder of the near lawlessness that has plagued the Sinai Peninsula bordering Gaza and Israel since the 2011 revolt, a senior security official officer was assassinated Saturday in the coastal city of el-Arish as he arrived home from work. Police Brig. Mohammed Tolbah was instantly killed and his driver seriously injured.

___

Associated Press writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-29-Egypt/id-69131944bb0f4e3b950703013b6d5a1b

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A Quarter Of US Consumers Has Heard Of Bitcoin - And The Majority Of Them Trust It

A survey of more than 22,000 U.S. consumers aimed at probing Bitcoin awareness and levels of trust has found around a quarter of consumers have heard of the decentralised digital currency and the majority of them trust it, despite all Bitcoin's infrastructure issues, legal question marks and valuation swings.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fh4BYhEVvXc/

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US futures head higher for fourth consecutive day

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock futures are rising for a fourth consecutive day, capping the biggest rally for S&P 500 index since January, thanks to a healthy dose of favorable economic news.

The S&P is now up 13 percent for the year, which makes it the best first half for the index since 2008.

Dow Jones industrial futures are up 23 points to 14,959. S&P futures have added 2.6 points to 1,609.20. Nasdaq futures are up 3.5 points to 2,903.

U.S. futures followed Asian markets higher Friday after a closely watched consumer price index in Japan, which has battled deflation for years, stopped falling for the first time in seven months.

Also on Friday, the Institute for Supply Management posts its gauge of business activity for June from Chicago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-futures-head-higher-fourth-consecutive-day-122339749.html

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The US Department of Defense is spending a cool $23 billion over 4 years to build up its cyber defen

The US Department of Defense is spending a cool $23 billion over 4 years to build up its cyber defenses -including a secure 4G wireless network. Neat.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HHDiIemT9rg/the-us-department-of-defense-is-spending-a-cool-23-bil-606951478

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New flame trench will support new era at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B

June 27, 2013 ? For the first time since NASA's Apollo-era rockets and space shuttles lifted off on missions from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the launch pads is undergoing extensive upgrades to support the agency's 21st century space launch complex.

At launch pad B, construction workers are removing the legacy flame deflector that sits below and between the left and right pad surface crawlerway track panels, along with Apollo-era bricks from both walls of the flame trench. A contract to perform the work was awarded earlier this year to Vanguard Contractors in Paducah, Ky.

"A new universal flame deflector is being designed that will support NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and a variety of other commercial launch vehicles," said Jose Perez Morales, the Pad Element project manager in the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program. "The bricks will be removed due to their age and because they are debonding from the flame trench structure."

Constructed specifically for space shuttle launches, the current flame deflector was designed to deflect the rocket exhaust away from the launch vehicle and launch pad to reduce the potential for damage. The flame trench bricks, which date back to the Apollo program, were installed during construction of the pad in the 1960s.

Perez Morales said the bricks have lost some of the bonding from the pad structure and represent a safety hazard for new launch vehicles and need to be replaced.

Dr. Bruce Vu, the Gas and Fluid Systems lead in the Design and Analysis Branch in Kennedy's Engineering Directorate, with assistance from NASA's Ames Research Center, at Moffett Field, Calif., worked with three different design concepts and used several computational methods to analyze each design's performance.

"We spent almost a year working with other NASA centers and the commercial space partners to come up with several concepts," Vu said. "The three primary objectives we focused on while evaluating these concepts were plume containment, surface pressure and thermal performance."

For several weeks, Vu and his team ran simulations of a single launch vehicle over a flame deflector concept, using Ames' supercomputer. They were looking for a deflector design that could withstand the high heat from plume exhaust, that did not result in plume blow-back, and whose surface pressure was within design margin limits.

"At the end of the simulations, we selected the best design and received approvals from the Engineering Review Board and the Element Integrated Team to proceed with the design," Vu said. "The design actually is closer to that of Apollo rather than space shuttle."

Now that the shape of the deflector has been selected, Vu said there are many other details to be worked out, including what kind of surface refractory to use and what to do about the south slope of the deflector where there will be no exhaust plume.

The universal flame deflector design must be able to accommodate the SLS and other commercial launch vehicles.

The firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills, with offices in Merritt Island, is designing the new flame deflector and the refurbishment of the flame trench. The design review currently is at the 30 percent phase.

"The goal is to create a deflector design that will be less costly to construct and more efficient," Vu said.

The new flame deflector and flame trench designs are schedule to be completed in early 2014. The construction of the flame trench and deflector is scheduled to start in early 2015.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/_uQsCyOHlCo/130627135349.htm

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