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Monday, August 5, 2013
Sources: A-Rod, union reach out to Yankees, MLB
NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees turned down requests Saturday to meet with Alex Rodriguez's camp and the union about the embattled star's expected drug penalty, two people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.
The overtures were made two days before MLB was poised to hand Rodriguez a lengthy suspension for his part in the Biogenesis case. The two people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no public statements were authorized.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, was in Trenton, N.J., playing what could be his last game in a while. He started a double play, then drew a walk in the first inning while on a minor league rehabilitation assignment with the Double-A Thunder. He was scheduled to be off Sunday.
The All-Star third baseman said Friday night the Yankees' tentative plan was for him to join them in Chicago for Monday night's game against the White Sox.
Before Rodriguez took the field, his side reached out to the Yankees and union head Michael Weiner contacted MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred. The Yankees and MLB said they had no interest in such talks.
There was always the chance, however, that further negotiations could take place at the last minute.
The New York Post, Daily News and New York Times reported the discussions earlier Saturday.
There hasn't been any definite word on the severity of Rodriguez's looming penalty, with speculation ranging from a lifetime ban to a suspension through the 2014 season.
Also possible, according to those familiar with the talks, was a suspension lasting until Aug. 31, 2014, the day before all teams are permitted to expand their rosters from 25 players to 40.
The 38-year-old Rodriguez hasn't played in the majors this season. The three-time American League MVP is recovering from hip surgery and a strained quadriceps.
A day after Rodriguez homered for Trenton, Thunder manager Tony Franklin hedged on whether A-Rod was ready to rejoin the majors.
"That's not for me to say," Franklin said. "His swing is getting better. He's running better. He's doing the baseball things OK right now. But that's a different game up there."
A sellout crowd was expected and a few minutes before the national anthem, A-Rod chatted up fans near the dugout and fist-pumped a kid, then walked off to have a catch.
Rodriguez caught a knuckling line drive by Reading's first batter and later fielded a grounder and began an inning-ending double play.
Batting second, Rodriguez walked to the plate to Jay-Z's "On To The Next One" and received a mixture of cheers and boos in the first. He fouled off a 2-2 pitch before drawing a walk.
Rodriguez slowly went first to third on a double off the right-field wall and was stranded. He also walked the next time he came up while his girlfriend, former pro wrestler Torrie Wilson, held up her cellphone to video the action from a second-row seat behind the plate.
In the top of the second, Rodriguez ranged to his right to field a grounder and threw high and wide to second. It was ruled an infield hit, though he probably would've made the play a few years ago.
The next inning, Rodriguez fielded a slow bouncer down the line and made a strong throw to first to get the out. He heard loud cheers as he jogged slowly to the dugout, looking around and seemingly taking in the crowd's appreciation.
___
Rob Maaddi reported from Trenton, N.J.
Source: http://www.kboi2.com/sports/A-Rod-homers-awaits-likely-drug-penalty-from-MLB-218221901.html
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Obama administration overrules Apple import ban
FILE - In this May 27, 2011, file photo, a salesperson at a mobile phone shop displays an Apple iPhone 4 to a customer in New Delhi. U.S. President Obama?s trade representative on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, vetoed a ban on imports of the iPhone 4 and some variations of the iPad 2, reversing a ruling in favor of rival South Korean electronics company Samsung. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
FILE - In this May 27, 2011, file photo, a salesperson at a mobile phone shop displays an Apple iPhone 4 to a customer in New Delhi. U.S. President Obama?s trade representative on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, vetoed a ban on imports of the iPhone 4 and some variations of the iPad 2, reversing a ruling in favor of rival South Korean electronics company Samsung. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
President Obama's trade representative on Saturday vetoed a ban on imports of some Apple iPads and older iPhones, dealing a setback to rival South Korean electronics company Samsung.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman overruled a June decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had banned imports of the iPhone 4 and some variations of the iPad 2. The commission ruled that the Chinese-made Apple devices violated a patent held by Samsung and couldn't be imported. The ban never went into effect, though, because the Obama administration had 60 days to decide if it would uphold the commission.
Obama is against import bans on the basis of the type of patent at issue in the Samsung case. The White House has recommended that Congress limit the ITC's ability to impose import bans in these cases.
Samsung and Apple are in a global legal battle over smartphones. Apple argues Samsung's Android phones copy vital iPhone features. Samsung is fighting back with its own complaints.
In an email, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company applauded the administration "for standing up for innovation."
Samsung said in a statement late Saturday night that it was disappointed in Froman's ruling, saying the ITC "correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith, and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license."
Froman wrote in a letter to the commission that he has concerns about patent holders getting too much leverage over competitors that use their technology under licenses.
Companies license patented technology to competitors so the devices can communicate as part of an industry standard for cellphones. Under the "standards-essential patent" legal theory prevailing in federal courts, holders of such patents are obligated to license them to all comers on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" terms.
U.S. courts have ruled that such patents cannot be the basis for import bans. The International Trade Commission follows a different standard than the courts, but the Obama administration wants it to adhere to the same principles.
Froman wrote that he shares the Obama administration's concerns that the holders of standards-essential patents could get "undue leverage" over their competitors.
Last year, a federal court ruled that Samsung owed Apple $1 billion in damages for infringing on non-essential Apple patents. But the judge refused to impose an import ban on Samsung phones and later struck $450 million from the verdict, saying the jurors miscalculated. The case is set for a rematch in appeals court.
Samsung is the world's largest maker of smartphones. Analysts estimate it outsold Apple nearly 2 to 1 in the first three months of the year. However, Apple's smartphone business is more profitable
The iPhone 4 was launched in 2010 and is the oldest iPhone still sold by Apple. The ITC ruling applied only to the AT&T version of the phone. Apple is likely to retire the model.
Apple launched the iPad 2 in 2011. The ruling applies only to the version equipped with a cellular modem for AT&T's network.
The ruling also applies to older iPhones, though these are no longer sold by Apple.
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Sunday, August 4, 2013
Analysis: Mexico bets on reforms to boost wages, but no quick fix
By Alexandra Alper and Pablo Garibian
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans hoping their president will make good on a campaign promise to boost wages may be in for a long wait, as the country aims to dodge Brazil's mistakes by betting on economic reforms that will take years to translate into labor gains.
President Enrique Pena Nieto came to office in December promising to boost productivity and raise low wages in Latin America's No. 2 economy, which have changed little in over a decade, averaging $21 a day in the formal sector.
A boost in wages would help consumption, which has been flagging since the money that Mexicans living abroad send home tapered, government spending slowed and U.S. demand for Mexican exports grew shaky.
The boom-and-bust situation in regional rival Brazil, where rising wages and easy credit have given way to weak growth and high inflation, serves as a cautionary tale.
So Pena Nieto is betting a host of ambitious economic reforms will translate into productivity gains that eventually boost salaries - just not right away.
"It would be at least three to five years, before you would begin to notice an impact," said Claudio Loser, a former IMF economist, who added that Brazil's consumption-fed model was bound to lead to overheating.
"Boosting consumption gives a short-term push, but it's not like an oil lamp, it's like a match," he said.
While many economists agree boosting productivity through reforms is key to sustainable wage rises, Mexicans may not be content to wait, as remittances so far this year hit a three-year-low.
"I don't have even one extra peso," said Ana Martinez, an 18-year-old office cleaner in Mexico City who earns 3,000 pesos ($230) a month for 12-hour work days.
"I would like to buy myself one of those cell phones with Internet, but just think, given what I earn," she said.
CHEAPER THAN CHINA
Mexico's low wages, a drag on consumption, are helping Mexican exports regain market share in the United States and luring firms like German carmaker Volkswagen to open plants.
At under $2.50 an hour, manufacturing wages are nearly 20 percent cheaper than in China, according to a recent Bank of America study.
The average tax-paying worker earns 271.58 pesos ($21.26) a day, up just over a dollar from the average wage adjusted for inflation a decade ago, according to IMSS, Mexico's social security institute.
"It's a very comfortable situation for the government and businessmen, and for companies, it's very profitable," said Alfredo Coutino, Latin America director for Moody's Analytics.
But it is weighing on consumption, which has lost steam over the past year.
Bulk sales - which predict the rhythm of retail sales - fell 5.5 percent from January to May, and consumer confidence in June hit its lowest level in nine months.
"It's a constraint of the Mexican model because if you have an export model, it's all based on cost," said Enrique Alvarez, an analyst at IDEAglobal in New York. "Unfortunately, those costs have to stay low, so you never really have a great deal of expansion in the consumer class."
The drag has been more worrying as a slowdown in the United States, Mexico's biggest trading partner, has hit industry and reduced remittance flows, which totaled $10.7 billion in the first half of the year, down nearly 10 percent from 2012.
Factory exports eased slightly in June, while the HSBC PMI data showed factory activity contracted in July for the first time since the series began over two years ago.
The government is now expecting the economy to grow 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.9 percent in 2012. Analysts polled by the central bank are more pessimistic, and have cut their 2013 growth forecast to 2.65 percent.
Economists say Mexican wages face headwinds from a slack labor market and low productivity.
In Mexico, an estimated 1 million new job seekers compete for half as many jobs each year, putting little pressure on employers to boost wages.
Mexican employee productivity grew only 16 percent from 1992 to 2012, while Brazilian, Chilean and Peruvian workers became 30, 57 and 113 percent more productive respectively, according to the Conference Board Total Economy Database.
Pena Nieto has said he wants to tackle the problem.
"This is the final goal ... that our economic policies are pushing for: That families can earn more, have better incomes, by being more productive," he said in May.
He signed a pact with opposition parties when he took office to spearhead reforms including bids to boost the country's paltry tax take and production at ailing state oil giant Pemex, to raise growth to 6 percent per year.
The reforms, including an already approved overhaul of the school system and a measure to buoy competition in the telecoms sector, are designed to boost worker productivity by improving education and making companies more efficient.
But Pena Nieto's labor reform, which took effect in December, has yet to translate into a promised boost in hiring.
Since he took office, Mexico has created 62,485 jobs, just a quarter of those created in the same period a year earlier.
The average minimum wage adjusted for inflation continued its fall over the past decade to 58.10 pesos ($4.55) a day in 2013 from 60.06 pesos, according to Mexico's minimum wage commission.
KEEP OFF THE STEROIDS
But slow change is better than overheating, economists say, pointing to Brazil.
There, a tight labor market, wages indexed to growth and easy credit pumped up a consumption-fueled boom that helped growth average nearly 4 percent a year over the past decade, and allowed millions of Brazilians to join the middle class.
That boom is fading as default rates have hit record highs over the past two years, and high inflation is curbing Brazilian spending. Growth last year notched a paltry 0.9 percent.
"You cannot make the economy grow on steroids," said Alberto Ramos, an economist with Goldman Sachs.
Average monthly wages of Brazilian workers rose by nearly a third in real terms over the past decade, and Mexicans may yet see a nudge.
"Mexico is going in the right direction, but it's going to take time," said Coutino.
($1 = 12.7752 Mexican pesos)
(With additional reporting by Alonso Soto in Brasilia; Editing by Simon Gardner and Peter Cooney)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-mexico-bets-reforms-boost-wages-no-quick-052225482.html
Block buyout of Smithfield Foods by Chinese firm
Shuanghui International, a well-heeled Chinese firm, has offered to buy Smithfield Foods Inc. for $7.1 billion. Currently, Smithfield controls 26 percent of U.S. pork processing and 15 percent of hog production.
Allowing China to own more than one-fourth of U.S. processing is concerning, considering China?s poor food safety record. In 2008, milk and baby formula processed in China were tainted with melamine, which led to infant deaths and thousands hospitalized.
Our question: Why would the United States go down the road of allowing a sale that would impact the nearly 35,000 direct jobs and 515,000 indirect jobs generated by the pork industry, plus the $34.5 billion that goes to this country?s GDP?
Here are some facts of concern:
? In 1980, there were 660,000 hog farms. Today there are 67,000.
? Only 2 percent of Food and Drug Administration-regulated food imports were inspected in 2010.
? The Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA) has reduced its evaluations of foreign meat suppliers by 60 percent since 2008.
? 17 percent of the U.S. food supply is imported.
Minnesota Farmers Union is concerned about how American farmers and consumers would be treated by a foreign owner, considering the history of tainted food, hog disease, trade imbalance and concentration ? risks too high to take. If you agree, call your members of Congress and ask them to oppose the sale of Smithfield Foods.
-----
Doug Peterson, president, Minnesota Farmers Union
Source: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/218173362.html
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President Obama Speaks on the Middle Class
President Obama on?Tuesday proposed a "grand bargain for middle-class jobs" during a speech at an Amazon warehouse in Tennessee.
The president spoke on creating tax incentives for manufacturers, closing tax loopholes, and making the creation of middle-class jobs a priority.
Below are links to Pew's relevant research and news?on these topics:
The Middle Class
Economic Recovery
Tax Incentives
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SPORTS: Marathon: Q & A
Photos:
Cullen Kane
Q: Could yoga help runners as they prepare and train for the upcoming marathon? If so, in what ways?
A: Yoga is a wonderful complement to any running program. Running is a repetitive exercise and can cause excessive tightness. Tightness in one or more muscle groups can lead to weakness and instability in other muscle groups. Using yoga as a cross-training method will help the body to loosen and lengthen, creating better flexibility and stability through better alignment.
Running is a leg-dominant activity, but runners need more than strong legs. Yoga provides a full-body workout that increases overall strength, including core and upper body. A strong core and upper body allow for better running posture. This helps combat fatigue, decreases risk of injury and allows better breath control.
Breath awareness is a major component of yoga. By consciously connecting the breath to movement, a runner?s pace can become more efficient. Yoga and running are similar in that both require focus and mindfulness. A regular yoga practice gives runners experience in tuning into the body?s signals while helping them keep their mental edge.
? Kate Connor
Columbus yoga and fitness instructor
Do you have a question about running, or more specifically running a half- or full marathon? Send your question by email to running@therepublic.com and we will provide an answer.
Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!
Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/Marathon-_1375584864
Discarded NYC theater prop sparks bomb scare
NEW YORK (AP) ? A New York City playwright who directed a show called the "American Suicide Bomber Association" unwitting sparked a bomb scare when he threw a prop from the production into the trash at his home.
Playwright Ethan Fishbane tells The New York Post (http://bit.ly/16Pymas ) he wasn't thinking when he discarded the fake bomb while cleaning out his Manhattan apartment Tuesday.
A building superintendent saw the prop the next morning and called police.
That brought out the bomb squad.
It didn't take long for investigators to figure out what had happened.
Fishbane says he was stunned when officers knocked on his door, but he praised the department for its quick response, saying it was "wholly appropriate."
The 23-year-old wrote the play while attending New York University's Tisch School of The Arts.
___
Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/discarded-nyc-theater-prop-sparks-bomb-scare-155356528.html
Death and the Moon | 10,000 Hours
As I was driving home from the gym, a little tired and a little sweaty, I saw the most beautiful moon. It sat on the shoulder of Mt. Hood, glowing its usual pale yellow in a pink hazy sky, but it was huge. I think it is what people call a harvest moon. I don?t really know, and even though I have the internet at my fingertips I don?t really feel like looking it up.
It seems more romantic to say, ?Harvest moon.?
I was listening absent-mindedly to NPR. ?A play was on?one of those one acts. It was a scene between a mother and a son. They were in Rome on vacation, and the mother was uninhibited. All she could talk about were her orgasmic dreams and how she thought the guy at the bar had deliciously large hands. I wasn?t listening that close to begin with, I was paying more attention to that moon. But slowly their conversation threw a lasso around my ears. It turns out that mom was dying of cancer, and her son had given her this vacation.
Pretty soon I was crying.
Son was explaining that he had planned this trip to show her all she had to fight for?to give her hope for the future. But then she started explaining that she wanted to die in room. She was sick of the experimental drugs and the false medical hope. ?She was so gentle as she explained that all the hope she could ever want was in dying exactly the way she wanted. In Rome with her son, drinking aperitif and ogling men with big hands.
I have been thinking a lot about death lately. I am a Hospice volunteer. I only have one patient at a time, and I meet with them once a week until they die and then I get a new patient. That sounds a little callous, but it is anything but. Then for the Portland Book Review I was given a book that traces the evolution of the medical industry and the resulting approach we as a society have towards those who are dying. ?Then there are personal experiences with aging family members, and of course the play that I just listened to.
It got me thinking about cancer, and the big questions: What If? What if?
Would I want to fight till I am a sack of bones in a bed in a hospital? Would I take the odds at face value and go live as hard as I can until I can?t anymore? I don?t know. But?The Inevitable Hour: A History of Caring for Dying Patients in America?by Emily K Abel, drove the point home that while medicine has become adept at postponing death, it hasn?t concurred it and as such maybe dying needn?t be something sterile and unpleasant. Maybe it can be something at home, something simpler, with family.
But that is simplifying things a bit. It was just an errant train of thought. Just something to think about. Maybe it was the moon that pulled all the separate?thoughts together: Hospice, books, family, plays about cancer. Ever see Moonstruck? Moons have power. Just look at it:
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Source: http://nikmariegreen.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/death-and-the-moon/
Microsoft's seven indie games for summer
Published by Ewan Spence at
Over on the Official Windows Phone Blog, Michael Stroh has taken a look inside the Windows Phone Store to pick out some great indie games to load up on your smartphone for the summer.
The seven recommended titles are:
You wont hear any complaints from me on those choices. But if I had to pick one of those, it would be Bridge Physics that catches my eye - no fancy graphics, jus a blueprint and the goal of making a bridge strong enough for a car, a truck, and a train to travel over. Level based physics puzzles that sound like a disaster movie from the seventies? I'm so there.
It's also nice to see that these are indie titles, as opposed to the expected picks from the Xbox Live catalogue. Now Microsoft needs to think about making the upgrade process for indies to get into the XBox system far easier, accessible, and something that developers would strive for.
You can get all the details from the Official Windows Phone Blog.
Source / Credit: Windows Phone Blog (Microsoft)
Filed: Home > Flow > Microsoft's seven indie games for summer
Platforms: Windows Phone 8
Categories: Games
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Source: http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/flow/item/18068_Microsofts_seven_indie_games_f.php
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Lawyer: Snowden has a place to live in Russia
In this still image taken on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 and released by Russia24 TV channel, shows Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, second right in the center, and National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, center back to a camera, as Snowden leaves Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. Snowden has received asylum in Russia for one year and left the transit zone of Moscow's airport, his lawyer said Thursday. Kucherena said that Snowden's whereabouts will be kept secret for security reasons. (AP Photo/Russia24 via Associated Press Television) TV OUT
In this still image taken on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 and released by Russia24 TV channel, shows Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, second right in the center, and National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, center back to a camera, as Snowden leaves Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. Snowden has received asylum in Russia for one year and left the transit zone of Moscow's airport, his lawyer said Thursday. Kucherena said that Snowden's whereabouts will be kept secret for security reasons. (AP Photo/Russia24 via Associated Press Television) TV OUT
A street cafe visitor reads a fresh Russian newspaper "Izvestia" with a front page pictures of Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, center, and National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, center left, taken on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Snowden has received asylum in Russia for one year and left the transit zone of Moscow's airport, his lawyer said Thursday. Kucherena said after meeting with the fugitive at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he was stuck since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23, that he handed him the papers proving his status. Kucherena said that Snowden's whereabouts will be kept secret for security reasons. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
In this image taken form Russia24 TV channel, Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena shows Snowden's a temporary document Russia while speaking to the media after visiting National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has received asylum in Russia for one year and left the transit zone of Moscow? airport, his lawyer said Thursday. Kucherena said after meeting with the fugitive at Moscow?s Sheremetyevo airport, where he was stuck since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23, that he handed him the papers proving his status. Kucherena said that Snowden?s whereabouts will be kept secret for security reasons. (AP Photo/Russia24 via APTN) TV OUT
MOSCOW (AP) ? National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has a place to live in Russia after being granted temporary asylum, but he still hasn't decided what he wants to do next, his lawyer said Friday. The big question may be how much choice he actually has.
Russia granted a year of asylum to Snowden on Thursday, allowing him to quietly slip out of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up for almost six weeks as he evades charges of espionage in the United States. Authorities have suggested he will have wide freedom to work, but Kremlin watchers believe his moves are likely being closely controlled by Russian intelligence.
Snowden "is in a safe place," but the location will remain secret out of concern for his security, his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Russian news agencies. The systems analyst who revealed himself as the source of reports in the Guardian newspaper of a vast U.S. Internet surveillance program needs time after his ordeal in airport limbo to figure out his next steps.
He was seen only once in his weeks in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport. Despite troops of photographers and reporters camped out inside and outside the airport, no one apparently saw him leaving, except for someone who snapped a photo of Kucherena talking to blurry figures who the attorney later said were Snowden and Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks staffer who has been advising him.
Kucherena said he expects Snowden to speak to journalists soon. "As soon as he decides what he will do, I hope he will announce it himself," the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted the lawyer as saying.
The move to grant Snowden asylum infuriated the Obama administration, which said it was "extremely disappointed" and warned that the decision could derail an upcoming summit between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul on Friday met with Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov to discuss matters including Snowden, the U.S. Embassy said on its Twitter account. There were no further details.
The asylum decision gives Russia cover to depict itself as a defender of human rights, pointing a finger to deflect criticism of its own poor record on rights including free speech. But the secrecy that surrounded Snowden's time at the Moscow airport and his unwillingness so far to talk to the press indicates he is being controlled by Russian intelligence, Andrei Soldatov, a Russian journalist who co-authored a book on the Russian intelligence services said.
"Does he have independent sources of information and communication? My impression is that he has none, which means he's not his own master," Soldatov said.
He said Kucherena's statements about concerns for Snowden's safety do not hold water.
"We are all perfectly aware that Snowden, who has just received asylum, does not face any danger in Russia," Soldatov said. "American intelligence does not kidnap or assassinate people in Russia, that's a fact. This is a just a pretext."
One of the reasons for keeping Snowden isolated may be to prevent him from speaking about the people he met and what really happened to him during the 39 days he spent in the airport's transit zone, Soldatov said. For the same reason, Soldatov said he expected Russian authorities to find a job for Snowden that will prevent him from having contacts with journalists.
Putin has denied that Russia's security services have worked with Snowden, either before or after he arrived in Moscow on a flight from Hong Kong. But security experts have said that Russia's intelligence agencies would not have passed up a chance to at least question a man who is believed to hold reams of classified U.S. documents and could shed light on how the U.S. intelligence agencies collect information.
Snowden's temporary asylum allows him to work in Russia, with some restrictions, said immigration lawyer Bakhrom Ismailov.
"Snowden has the same rights for employment as a Russian citizen except that he is not allowed to work as a public servant or take a job in law enforcement agencies," said Ismailov, a managing partner at Yurinvestholding. The founder of Russia's Facebook-like social network site VKontakte, has already made what sounded like a job offer on Twitter.
The law on temporary asylum says a person with this status is entitled "to receive assistance" in traveling out of Russia. Ismailov said that this assistance could mean issuing a travel document, but this is not normally done for people with temporary asylum.
Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia had offered Snowden asylum and he told human rights figures during a meeting in mid-July that he wanted to visit all those countries. But Kucherena said Thursday that Snowden no longer has such plans.
_____
Associated Press writer Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.
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