DOTA 2 is a blight on the gaming community | Lazygamer .:: The ...

Gamers and the gaming community have often been seen as being unnecessarily aggressive in games with ? ?slurs on people?s mothers being the absolute norm and attacks on peoples? gender, race and belief systems simply par for the course. So why do I single out DOTA 2?

Well, because while the gaming communities are often their own worst enemies when it comes to being respected as a mature hobby and something that can be grown into a truly representative sport, it has always been inclusive of other members of the gaming community.

Yes it?s hard to get into and you need some seriously thick skin to stay here but generally gamers like gamers and things are pretty happy all round. That is until DOTA arrived.?I?m generally an average gamer; I can hold my own in most games and while any game has a learning curve I?ve never before been massively abused for being a noob? that is until I tried DOTA.

But let?s take a step back here. The first I heard about DOTA was from a friend in the industry who has a hopeless addiction to the game. He went on about how incredible the game was and how deep the strategy and gameplay was and that I should really give it a go.

So I agreed and installed DOTA 2 and then asked if I can join his game his response surprised me

?er, no I think maybe you should just play with bots for a couple of days and then maybe?

I?ve never been invited to play a game before and then get told that they don?t want to play with me. I just thought he was being a bit of an ass so I asked some other regular DOTA players and I got the exact same response from all of them. It was amazing.

So I went online and played some DOTA 2 against the bots ? and it was painfully boring. I had no idea what I was meant to do (besides the obvious) and after about 3 games I just gave up.

I then entered the South Africa DOTA 2 group on Steam. I mean South Africans are awesome people and so I?d surely find someone on there to have a casual game with me.?How wrong I was. I got invited to 3 games and then when I said I was a noob I got instantly kicked. No explanation given just a pure kick.

When I asked the main chat group why no one would play with a noob I was subjected to a torrent of abuse. It was amazing. I?ve received a crap load of abuse while running this site and I have to say that the abuse I came under on the DOTA group for simply saying I?m a noob was mind-blowing.

But what?s more depressing really are posts like this that people publically post on forums like neogaf

The headline reads, Region Lock Multiplayer Games Good, which besides its horrendous English is a very strange thing to see on a gaming forum. The actual post is worse though.

?Lost 4/5 games in dota 2 today because brazil and peru player wont fucking stay in their own region.

Goes into us east/west and ruins the game.

Someone disconnects? *checks steam profile* GUESS WHAT, south american
entire game, their little group talks in their own language, when they die, they start blaming it on other people, all i see is ? ?report _____?, ?jajaja?, ?nob?, other broken english being spammed using mic and speaking entire time, other teammates have no clue what?s going on and is really annoying (i had a game once where 4 of us were english speakers and the 5th guy was probably spanish, he kept talking into the mic, the rest of us told him NONE of us spoke his language but he continued to speak the entire game) of course i?ve had good games with them before, but holy shit, when it?s 1 game out of 20, just fuck it, ip ban them from our region please?

So this game has become so divisive that it is now seen as acceptable to post on public forums that you don?t want people of other races and languages to play with you in your game??The game itself may be good but the vast majority of the community is an acerbic, ?absolute disgrace and they really should be ashamed of themselves.

To any DOTA player who wants to say this isn?t true of them and their friends then tell me; have you complained about the Russians joining your Western servers and ruining the game?

Source: http://www.lazygamer.net/pc-gaming/dota-2-is-a-blight-on-the-gaming-community/

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Attorney: Manning did not have 'evil intent'

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) ? U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was negligent in releasing classified secrets to WikiLeaks, but the former intelligence analyst did not know al-Qaida would see the material, a defense attorney said Friday.

During closing arguments, attorney David Coombs said the soldier did not have "evil intent," a key point prosecutors must prove to convict Manning of aiding the enemy, the most serious charge he faces and one that could land him in prison for the rest of his life. Coombs disputed what prosecutors said a day earlier, that Manning was a traitor whose only mission in Iraq was to give classified information to the anti-secrecy website and bask in the attention.

"He's not seeking attention. He's saying he's willing to accept the price" for what he has done, Coombs said.

After Coombs finished his three-hour argument, there was a smattering of applause from Manning supporters, who were quickly hushed by the judge hearing the case.

"All right, that's enough," said judge Col. Denise Lind. "This is a court of law. I would ask, please, that you keep your reactions muted."

Meanwhile, one of Manning's most visible supporters was banned from the trial after the judge said someone posted threats online. Clark Stoeckley, a college art instructor from New Jersey, confirmed he was the one booted.

Stoeckley attended often as a sketch artist, arriving each day in a white box truck with bold words painted on the sides: "WikiLeaks TOP SECRET Mobile Information Collection Unit."

A tweet Thursday night from an account Stoeckley used said: "I don't know how they sleep at night but I do know where." It was removed Friday and Stoeckley told The Associated Press on Twitter he couldn't comment.

Inside the courtroom, a few spectators smiled ? as did Manning ? when Coombs mocked a former Army supervisor who testified last week that Manning told her the American flag meant nothing to him and that she suspected before they deployed to Iraq that Manning was a spy. Coombs noted she had not written up a report on Manning's alleged disloyalty, though had written ones on him taking too many smoke breaks and drinking too much coffee.

Manning, 25, is charged with 21 offenses, including federal espionage, theft and computer fraud charges.

A native of Crescent, Okla., Manning has acknowledged giving WikiLeaks some 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and videos. But he says he didn't believe the information would harm troops in Afghanistan and Iraq or threaten national security.

"The amount of the documents in this case, actually is the best evidence that he was discreet in what he chose because if he was indiscriminate, if he was systematically harvesting, we wouldn't be talking about a few hundred thousand documents ? we'd be talking about millions of documents," Coombs said.

Coombs said giving the material to WikiLeaks was no different than giving it to a newspaper.

"That's giving information to a legitimate news organization in order to hold the government accountable," Coombs said.

The government disagreed and said Manning would also be charged if he had leaked the classified material to the media.

Coombs also showed three snippets of video from a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack Manning leaked, showing troops firing on a small crowd of men on a Baghdad sidewalk, killing at least nine men, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. Coombs said the loss of civilian lives shocked and horrified the young soldier.

"You have to look at that from the point of view of a guy who cared about human life," Coombs said.

Lind will deliberate after closing arguments, but it's not clear when she will rule.

Speaking for more than five hours Thursday, Maj. Ashden Fein told the judge Manning gave secrets to a group of anarchists, knowing the material would be seen by the terrorist group al-Qaida.

"WikiLeaks was merely the platform which Pfc. Manning used to ensure all the information was available for the world, including enemies of the United States," Fein said.

Coombs has said Manning was troubled by what he saw in the war ? and at the same time was struggling as a gay man in the era of "don't ask don't tell." Those struggles made him want to do something to make a difference and he hoped revealing what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. diplomacy would inspire debate and reform in American foreign and military policy.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday in a telephone press conference the prosecution engaged in "name calling" in its final arguments.

"A prosecution only engages in name calling when it has no evidence," he said.

He said if the aiding the enemy charge is allowed to stand it will be "the end of national security journalism in the United States."

He accused the Obama administration of a "war on whistleblowers" and a "war on journalism."

The verdict and any sentence will be reviewed, and could be reduced, by the commander of the Military District of Washington, currently Maj. Gen. Jeffery S. Buchanan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attorney-manning-did-not-evil-intent-203738781.html

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Ministry at center of Texas captives case

HOUSTON (AP) ? The former nonprofit operating out of the purple-trimmed, one-story brick home in north Houston apparently started with the best of intentions: to feed and shelter homeless individuals.

But Regina's Faith Ministries soon ran afoul of its philanthropic goals as it lost its nonprofit status, violated state licensing regulations and, according to authorities, ended up turning its shelter into a dungeon-like prison where three men say they were held against their will so their captor could cash public assistance checks.

Police said the men, who lived in the home's garage at least a year, were lured by promises of food and cigarettes. Police had initially indicated four men were held captive but later revised the number to three.

Walter Renard Jones, 31, has been charged with two counts of injury to an elderly individual and is being held in the Harris County Jail on bonds totaling $400,000. The three men, as well as another man and four women ? three with mental disabilities ? were discovered in the house last Friday. Authorities say the investigation isn't over.

Jones is the son of Regina Jones, who is listed in state records as one of the former nonprofit's directors. Walter Jones' attorney, Jerome Godinich Jr., did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Another of the ministries' directors, Henry Bolden, said he was shocked by last week's discovery.

"I thought they were doing good," said Bolden, who is the pastor of New Rock of Salvation Holiness Church in Houston.

The three men ?ages 80, 74 and 65 ? told authorities they were forced to live in the home's garage, which had locks on its doors, one chair, no bed or bathroom and a possibly malfunctioning air conditioner. Police say the men were given scraps to eat. They were hospitalized for malnutrition but have since been released and placed at an assisted living facility, police said.

Property records show the home is owned by Essie Mae Scranton, Regina Jones' mother. The brother of Regina Jones said their 81-year-old mother had nothing to do with the nonprofit or with the men found there.

"That's not no shelter," Karey Scranton said. "I don't know what my sister did or what she conjured up or whatever."

Various attempts to reach Regina Jones, 57, this week were unsuccessful. Court records show Jones, also known as Regina Nelson, was previously convicted of several theft charges.

Karey Scranton defended Walter Jones, his nephew.

"The boy would give the shirt off his back to help somebody. He's not no bad person," Scranton said. Court records show Walter Jones previously had been convicted of theft and marijuana possession charges.

Regina's Faith Ministries registered with the state as a nonprofit in December 2008. Bolden said Regina Jones, who was a member of his church, was already running the shelter when she approached him for help. The pastor said he bought 10 mattresses for the facility and sometimes would supply it with food, but had little else to do with it.

"I thought they were feeding them pretty good. Maybe I should have checked in there more," he said.

In 2010, Texas revoked the group's nonprofit status because of tax reporting issues.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, a nonprofit which coordinates various local efforts, had not heard of Regina's Faith Ministries before last week, said Marilyn Brown, the group's president and CEO.

Brown said some facilities call themselves group homes, though she said, "Some of them are more legitimate than others."

Regulation of such facilities, which provide personal care services such as feeding and dressing, falls to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. They are required to be state-licensed only if they provide services to four or more individuals, agency spokeswoman Cecilia Cavuto said.

The agency did investigate the Houston home in November 2011 and spoke with four residents. Cavuto said the four "expressed satisfaction" about how the home was run.

"So our staff did not see any conditions which concerned them related to the health and safety of the residents," she said.

However, the home was found to be in violation of licensure requirements. In a December 2011 letter, Regina Jones told the agency she would drop to three residents, thus no longer requiring a license.

Brown said the extreme conditions these men lived in are rare for such facilities.

She said the hope is that this case re-opens a conversation about gathering more detailed data on what happens to individuals after they use services by the Coalition's members. One of the men found in the home had stayed four nights at a Coalition shelter in August 2010, a review showed, but there was no other record of him.

"People fall into homelessness for many different reasons. ... It's often coupled with mental incapacities, physical disabilities. And so that person may not have the mental capability to recognize when something is questionable and so they do become vulnerable to those who would take advantage (or provide) unacceptable care such as these men found themselves in," Brown said.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ministry-center-texas-captives-case-205252355.html

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Microsoft to open new retail stores in Burlington, Oklahoma, and Jacksonville

Microsoft just posted a bulletin on their site noting that a new retail store would be opening up at some point in the near future at the Burlington Mall in Massachusetts. Our friends over at Neowin claim the store will be opening September 19th, but we cannot find a source to confirm or deny that fact.

The company has also made a quick Facebook announcement that it plans on bringing retail stores to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?and Jacksonville, Florida.

As of now, we have nothing more to report as Microsoft?s message is as simple as follows:

?Look out, Burlington. We're headed to Burlington Mall soon. Get ready to experience the Microsoft Store near you. Although we can't reveal too much now, we can promise a lot of fun ? and dancing ? during our Grand Opening.?

We will make sure to keep you up to date on the latest information.

Anyone in the Burlington, Massachusetts area excited?

Source: Neowin

Source: http://www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-open-new-retail-stores-burlington-oklahoma-and-jacksonville

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Health care reform and vision benefits: Bringing the facts into focus ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]EHBs encompass 10 categories of health care coverage ? one category is pediatric vision services, which entails routine eye exams, glasses and contacts. This means individual and small group insurance coverage must ...

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Dani Fallin Appointed Chair of Department of Mental Health

July 24, 2013

Dani Fallin, PhD, an internationally known expert in aging and neuropsychiatric disorders, has been appointed the Sylvia and Harold Halpert Professor and chair of the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Fallin?s research focuses on the genetic underpinnings of such conditions and on the integration of genetic susceptibility and environmental risk. She assumed her duties on July 15.

?Dani is an outstanding scientist and faculty member,? said Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. ?I have no doubt she will continue the tradition of great leadership in the Department and look forward to working with her to take the Department to even greater heights."

A native of Florida, Fallin received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida, Gainesville. She did doctoral work the University of South Florida, Tampa, and received her PhD, in Genetic Epidemiology, from Case Western Reserve University. Fallin first came to Johns Hopkins in 2000 as an assistant professor of Epidemiology in the Bloomberg School. In 2003, she was named co-director of the school?s Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory, a position she held for five years. Since 2002, she has served as co-director of the Genetics Core for the Older American Independence Center of Johns Hopkins University and was Director of Genetic Epidemiology within the Department of Epidemiology since 2008. Fallin also directs the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Fallin succeeds William Eaton, PhD, who chaired the Department of Mental Health for 12 years and will remain on the faculty.?I want to take this opportunity to thank Bill Eaton for his years of dedication to the Department and the School. He has been an exemplary leader of an exemplary Department, and the School owes him a great debt of gratitude for his service,? said Klag.

The Bloomberg School?s Department of Mental Health seeks to advance understanding of mental and behavioral disorders, to develop, implement, and evaluate methods to prevent and control these disorders, and to promote mental health in the population. It is the first and the only department devoted to mental health in a school of public health.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health media contact: Tim Parsons at 410-955-7619 or tmparson@jhsph.edu.

Source: http://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2013/fallin-chair.html

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Security: Microsoft wil NSA beletten te spioneren via Kinect: De nasleep van de...

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