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FIFA 14 will not be coming to the PC due to the platform’s inability to run the Ignite engine.

The new Ignite engine that props up all of EA Sports’ next generation titles will not run on the PC or the Wii U.

The lack of PC support was explained away by EA Sports executive vice-president Andrew Wilson saying that most players don’t have computers that could run it.

According to Wilson, the release of FIFA 11 back in 2010 resulted in many players being unable to play the game because they did not have an adequately powerful computer at the time and the company feels this would be repeated if Ignite-powered titles were released on the PC today.

‘Even though there were some PCs on the marketplace that could run that engine, the lion’s share of PCs on the marketplace could not,’ Wilson told Polygon. ‘And the majority of the gamer base that was playing the game on PC did not have a PC spec that would work with that.’

Wilson further explains that the Ignite engine has been built for the closed Xbox One and PS4 hardware and not the open hardware of an average PC. He concedes that with a few adjustments, the Ignite engine might make the jump to PC in the future.

The current reported specifications of the PS4 and Xbox One suggest that each console is the equivalent of a moderately powerful PC as opposed to anything that will challenge a high-end gaming rig. Both consoles are listed as having 8GB of RAM and GPUs derived from the AMD Radeon 7000 series.

The decision not to make adjustments in order for the engine to run on a PC will be baffling to many considering that the game will have originally been programmed and initially tested on a PC.

The lack of Wii U support for the Ignite engine is less surprising with EA’s previous declarations that they have nothing currently development for Nintendo’s latest offering. EA developer DICE has also abandoned its efforts to get the Frostbite 3 engine, the engine powering a wide range of EAs titles, running on the Wii U after tests with its predecessor proved disappointing.

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Editor’s note: Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and author of “Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Survive.”

(CNN) — Today, the United States is conducting offensive cyberwar actions around the world.

More than passively eavesdropping, we’re penetrating and damaging foreign networks for both espionage and to ready them for attack. We’re creating custom-designed Internet weapons, pre-targeted and ready to be “fired” against some piece of another country’s electronic infrastructure on a moment’s notice.

This is much worse than what we’re accusing China of doing to us. We’re pursuing policies that are both expensive and destabilizing and aren’t making the Internet any safer. We’re reacting from fear, and causing other countries to counter-react from fear. We’re ignoring resilience in favor of offense.

Welcome to the cyberwar arms race, an arms race that will define the Internet in the 21st century.

Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued last October and released by Edward Snowden, outlines U.S. cyberwar policy. Most of it isn’t very interesting, but there are two paragraphs about “Offensive Cyber Effect Operations,” or OCEO, that are intriguing:

“OECO can offer unique and unconventional capabilities to advance U.S. national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging. The development and sustainment of OCEO capabilities, however, may require considerable time and effort if access and tools for a specific target do not already exist.

“The United States Government shall identify potential targets of national importance where OCEO can offer a favorable balance of effectiveness and risk as compared with other instruments of national power, establish and maintain OCEO capabilities integrated as appropriate with other U.S. offensive capabilities, and execute those capabilities in a manner consistent with the provisions of this directive.”

Opinion: Cyber arms control? Forget about it

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NSA fallout could be ‘harmful’

Could the NSA leaker defect to China?

These two paragraphs, and another paragraph about OCEO, are the only parts of the document classified “top secret.” And that’s because what they’re saying is very dangerous.

Cyberattacks have the potential to be both immediate and devastating. They can disrupt communications systems, disable national infrastructure, or, as in the case of Stuxnet, destroy nuclear reactors; but only if they’ve been created and targeted beforehand. Before launching cyberattacks against another country, we have to go through several steps.

We have to study the details of the computer systems they’re running and determine the vulnerabilities of those systems. If we can’t find exploitable vulnerabilities, we need to create them: leaving “back doors” in hacker speak. Then we have to build new cyberweapons designed specifically to attack those systems.

Sometimes we have to embed the hostile code in those networks, these are called “logic bombs,” to be unleashed in the future. And we have to keep penetrating those foreign networks, because computer systems always change and we need to ensure that the cyberweapons are still effective.

Like our nuclear arsenal during the Cold War, our cyberweapons arsenal must be pretargeted and ready to launch.

That’s what Obama directed the U.S. Cyber Command to do. We can see glimpses in how effective we are in Snowden’s allegations that the NSA is currently penetrating foreign networks around the world: “We hack network backbones — like huge Internet routers, basically — that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one.”

The NSA and the U.S. Cyber Command are basically the same thing. They’re both at Fort Meade in Maryland, and they’re both led by Gen. Keith Alexander. The same people who hack network backbones are also building weapons to destroy those backbones. At a March Senate briefing, Alexander boasted of creating more than a dozen offensive cyber units.

Longtime NSA watcher James Bamford reached the same conclusion in his recent profile of Alexander and the U.S. Cyber Command (written before the Snowden revelations). He discussed some of the many cyberweapons the U.S. purchases:

“According to Defense News’ C4ISR Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek, Endgame also offers its intelligence clients — agencies like Cyber Command, the NSA, the CIA, and British intelligence — a unique map showing them exactly where their targets are located. Dubbed Bonesaw, the map displays the geolocation and digital address of basically every device connected to the Internet around the world, providing what’s called network situational awareness. The client locates a region on the password-protected web-based map, then picks a country and city — say, Beijing, China. Next the client types in the name of the target organization, such as the Ministry of Public Security’s No. 3 Research Institute, which is responsible for computer security — or simply enters its address, 6 Zhengyi Road. The map will then display what software is running on the computers inside the facility, what types of malware some may contain, and a menu of custom-designed exploits that can be used to secretly gain entry. It can also pinpoint those devices infected with malware, such as the Conficker worm, as well as networks turned into botnets and zombies — the equivalent of a back door left open…

“The buying and using of such a subscription by nation-states could be seen as an act of war. ‘If you are engaged in reconnaissance on an adversary’s systems, you are laying the electronic battlefield and preparing to use it’ wrote Mike Jacobs, a former NSA director for information assurance, in a McAfee report on cyberwarfare. ‘In my opinion, these activities constitute acts of war, or at least a prelude to future acts of war.’ The question is, who else is on the secretive company’s client list? Because there is as of yet no oversight or regulation of the cyberweapons trade, companies in the cyber-industrial complex are free to sell to whomever they wish. “It should be illegal,’ said the former senior intelligence official involved in cyberwarfare. ‘I knew about Endgame when I was in intelligence. The intelligence community didn’t like it, but they’re the largest consumer of that business.’”

That’s the key question: How much of what the United States is currently doing is an act of war by international definitions? Already we’re accusing China of penetrating our systems in order to map “military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.” What PPD-20 and Snowden describe is much worse, and certainly China, and other countries, are doing the same.

All of this mapping of vulnerabilities and keeping them secret for offensive use makes the Internet less secure, and these pre-targeted, ready-to-unleash cyberweapons are destabalizing forces on international relationships. Rooting around other countries’ networks, analyzing vulnerabilities, creating back doors, and leaving logic bombs could easily be construed as an act of war. And all it takes is one over-achieving national leader for this all to tumble into actual war.

It’s time to stop the madness. Yes, our military needs to invest in cyberwar capabilities, but we also need international rules of cyberwar, more transparency from our own government on what we are and are not doing, international cooperation between governments and viable cyberweapons treaties. Yes, these are difficult. Yes, it’s a long slow process. Yes, there won’t be international consensus, certainly not in the beginning. But even with all of those problems, it’s a better path to go down than the one we’re on now.

We can start by taking most of the money we’re investing in offensive cyberwar capabilities and spend them on national cyberspace resilience. MAD, mutually assured destruction, made sense because there were two superpowers opposing each other. On the Internet there are all sorts of different powers, from nation-states to much less organized groups. An arsenal of cyberweapons begs to be used, and, as we learned from Stuxnet, there’s always collateral damage to innocents when they are. We’re much safer with a strong defense than with a counterbalancing offense.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bruce Schneier.

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The Emerald City is part of a Wizard of Oz display built by 12 members for Brickworld 2013.

(Credit:
Captain Redstorm/Flickr)

We’ve seen plenty of crazy Lego re-creations over the years, from landmark architecture to vintage computers, but we can’t help but be impressed when an entire movie is redone in bricks.

That would be 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” which a team of 12 Lego builders has turned into a marvelous 3D plastic diorama that includes just about every scene in the film, including a rotating tornado.

The collaborators from VirtuaLUG recently showed off the result of their teamwork at Brickworld 2013 Chicago, a display of spectacular Lego builds.

VirtuaLUG has done displays including portrayals of “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Lord of the Rings.” For its “Wizard of Oz” set, the 12 builders in three different countries worked on their components separately and then assembled them in Chicago.

The display, at least 10 feet long, begins with a sepia-tone re-creation of Kansas, complete with a spinning tornado carrying Dorothy’s house off to Oz.

It then turns into a brightly colored array of bricks to simulate Munchkinland and the Yellow Brick Road, which leads away to show minifigs of Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.

The road leads through the poppy fields to the Emerald City, an eye-popping build of the green metropolis.

The display continues into the dark forest, which lights up with ultraviolet lights for an eerie glow, to the witch’s castle, which has a detachment of Winkie guards on the bridge. It concludes back in Emerald City as Oz’s balloon is about to launch.

Check out Beyond the Brick’s walk-through video of The Wizard of Oz display, which was named best collaboration at Brickworld, below.

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(CNN) — Paula Cooper was just 16 years old when she became the youngest person on death row in the United States.

That was in 1986.

On Monday, after 27 years behind bars, Cooper walked out of Indiana’s Rockville Correctional Facility a free woman. She emerged around 10 a.m., said Douglas S. Garrison, chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Cooper had an unlikely ally supporting her release: Bill Pelke, the grandson of the woman she killed.

Paula Cooper, once a teen on Indiana’s death row, was released from prison on Monday, June 17. She spent 27 years behind bars for stabbing a 78-year-old Bible teacher Ruth Pelke in the stomach and chest 33 times.

As of December 2012, there are 61 women on death row in the United States, making up fewer than 2% of the 3,125 inmates sentenced to die, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Here is a look at the women currently on death row. Source: Death Penalty Information Center

Patricia Blackmon was 29 when she killed her 2-year-old adopted daughter in Dothan, Alabama, in May 1999. Blackmon was sentenced on June 7, 2002. She is one of the 61 women currently on death row.

Tierra Capri Gobble was 21 when she murdered her 4-month-old son in Dothan, Alabama, on December 15, 2004. She was sentenced on October 26, 2005.

Shonda Johnson was 28 when she murdered her husband in Jasper, Alabama, on November 30, 1997. She was sentenced on October 22, 1999.

Christie Michelle Scott was 30 when she murdered her 6-year-old son and committed arson in Russellville, Alabama, on September 16, 2008. The jury recommended a life sentence, but the judge sentenced her to death in August 2009.

Wendi Andriano was 30 when she murdered her husband in Mesa, Arizona, on October 8, 2000. She was sentenced on December 22, 2004.

Shawna Forde was 41 when she murdered a 29-year-old man and a 9-year-old girl in Arivaca, Arizona, on May 30, 2009. She was sentenced on February 23, 2011.

Maria del Rosio Alfaro was 18 when she committed burglary, robbery, and murdered a 9-year-old girl in Anaheim, California, on June 15, 1990. She was sentenced on July 14, 1992.

Dora Luz Buenrostro was 34 when she murdered her two daughters, ages 4 and 9, and her 8-year-old son in San Jacinto, California, on October 25 and October 27, 1994. She was sentenced on October 2, 1998.

Socorro Caro was 42 when she murdered her three sons, ages 5, 8, and 11, in Santa Rosa Valley, California, on November 22, 1999. She was sentenced on April 5, 2002.

Celeste Simone Carrington was 30 when she murdered a 34-year-old man during a burglary on January 26, 1992, in San Carlos, California, and a 36-year-old woman during a burglary in Palo Alto, California, on March 11, 1992. She was sentenced to death on November 23, 1994.

Cynthia Lynn Coffman was 24 when she murdered a 20-year-old woman in San Bernardino County, California, on November 7, 1986. She was sentenced to death on August 31, 1989.

Kerry Lyn Dalton was 28 when she murdered a 23-year-old woman in Live Oak Springs, California, on June 26, 1988. She was sentenced to death on May 23, 1995.

Susan Eubanks was 33 when she murdered her four sons, ages 4, 6, 7, and 14, in San Marcos, California, on October 27, 1996. She was sentenced to death on October 13, 1999.

Veronica Gonzalez was 26 when she murdered her 4-year-old niece in San Diego on July 21, 1995. She was sentenced to death on July 20, 1998.

Valerie Dee Martin was 35 when she murdered her boyfriend in Lancaster, California, on March 28, 2003. She was sentenced to death on March 26, 2010.

Maureen McDermott was 37 when she murdered a 27-year-old man in Van Nuys, California, on April 28, 1985. She was sentenced to death on June 8, 1990.

Michelle Lyn Michaud was 38 when she kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered a 22-year-old woman in Pleasanton, California, on December 2, 1997. She was sentenced on September 25, 2002.

Tanya Jaime Nelson was 46 when she murdered two women, ages 23 and 52, in Westminster, California, on April 21, 2005. She was sentenced to death on March 26, 2010.

Sandi Dawn Nieves was 34 when she murdered her four daughters, ages 5, 7, 11, and 12, in Saugus, California, on June 30, 1998. She was sentenced on October 6, 2000.

Angelina Rodriguez was 32 when she murdered her husband in Montebello, California, on September 9, 2000. She was sentenced on January 12, 2004.

Brooke Marie Rottiers was 26 when she murdered two men, ages 22 and 28, in Corona, California, on August 28, 2006. She was sentenced on October 22, 2010.

Mary Ellen Samuels was 40 when she hired someone to kill her husband in Northridge, California, and then murdered her husband’s killer in Ventura County, California on June 27, 1989. She was sentenced on September 16, 1994.

Cathy Lynn Sarinana was 30 when she murdered her 13-year-old nephew in Riverside, California, on December 25, 2005. She was sentenced on June 26, 2009.

Janeen Marie Snyder was 21 when she murdered a 16-year-old girl in Rubidoux, California, on April 17, 2001. She was sentenced on September 7, 2006.

Catherine Thompson was 42 when she hired someone to kill her husband in Westwood, California, on June 14, 1990. She was sentenced on June 10, 1993.

Manling Tsang Williams was 28 when she murdered her husband and two sons, ages 3 and 7, in Rowland Heights, California, on August 7, 2007. She was sentenced on January 18, 2012.

Lisa Montgomery was 36 when she murdered a 23-year-old woman in Skidmore, Missouri, on July 16, 2004. She was sentenced on April 4, 2008. She is being held in federal prison.

Margaret Allen was 39 when she murdered a 39-year-old woman in Titusville, Florida, on February 8, 2005. She was sentenced on May 19, 2011.

Tina Lasonya Brown was 39 when she murdered a 19-year-old woman in West Pensacola, Florida, on March 24, 2010. She was sentenced on September 28, 2012.

Ana Marie Cardona was 39 when she murdered her 3-year-old son in Miami on November 2, 1990. She was sentenced in 1992, the sentence was reversed 10 years later. She was resentenced on June 10, 2011.

Emilia Lily Carr was 24 when she murdered a 26-year-old woman in Boardman, Florida, on February 14, 2009. She was sentenced on February 22, 2011.

Tiffany Ann Cole was 23 when she murdered a 61-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 8, 2005. She was sentenced on March 6, 2008.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner was 28 when she murdered her husband in Gwinnett County, Georgia, on February 7, 1997. She was sentenced on November 20, 1998.

Robin Lee Row was 35 when she murdered her husband and her two children in Boise, Idaho, on February 10, 1992. She was sentenced on December 16, 1993.

Debra Denise Brown was 21 when she murdered a 7-year-old girl in Gary, Indiana, on June 18,1984. She was sentenced on June 23, 1986. She is serving a life sentence in Ohio but is sentenced to death in Indiana.

Virginia Susan Caudill was 37 when she robbed and murdered a 73-year-old woman in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 15, 1998. She was sentenced on March 24, 2000.

Antoinette Frank was 22 when she robbed and murdered a 25-year-old police officer, a 17-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman in New Orleans on March 4, 1994. She was sentenced on September 13, 1995.

Brandy Holmes was 23 when she robbed and murdered a 70-year-old man in Blanchard, Louisiana, on January 1, 2003. She was sentenced on February 21, 2006.

Michelle Byrom was 42 when she hired a killer to murder her husband in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, on June 4, 1999. She was sentenced on November 18, 2000.

Lisa Jo Chamberlin (aka Chamberlain) was 31 when she murdered a 34-year-old manand a 37-year-old woman in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in March 2004. She was sentenced on August 4, 2006.

Patricia JoAnn Jennings was 47 when she murdered her husband in Wilson County, North Carolina, on September 19, 1989. She was sentenced on November 5,1990.

Blanche Kiser Moore was 56 when she murdered her boyfriend in Alamance County, North Carolina, on October 7, 1986. She was sentenced on January 18, 1991.

Carlette Elizabeth Parker was 34 when she murdered an 86-year-old woman in North Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 12, 1998. She was sentenced on April 1, 1999.

Christina S. Walters was 20 when she murdered a 19-year-old woman and a 25-year-old woman in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on August 17, 1998. She was sentenced on July 6, 2000.

Donna Marie Roberts was 58 when she murdered her husband near Warren, Ohio, on December 11, 2001. She was originally sentenced on June 21, 2003. That sentence was reversed on August 2, 2006, and she was resentenced on October 29, 2007.

Brenda E. Andrew was 37 when she murdered her husband in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2001. She was sentenced on September 22, 2004.

Angela Darlene McAnulty was 41 when she murdered her 15-year-old daughter in Eugene, Oregon, on December 9, 2009. She was sentenced on February 24, 2011.

Michelle Sue Tharp was 29 when she murdered her 7-year-old daughter in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, on April 18, 1998. She was sentenced on November 14, 2004.

Shonda Dee Walter was 23 when she murdered an 83-year-old man in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 2003. She was sentenced on April 19, 2005.

Christa Gail Pike was 18 when she murdered a 19-year-old woman in Knoxville, Tennessee, on January 12,1995. She was sentenced on March 29,1996.

Suzanne Margaret Basso was 44 when she murdered her boyfriend In Houston on August 25, 1998. She was sentenced on September 1, 1999.

Kimberly Cargill was 42 when she murdered a 39-year-old woman in Whitehouse, Texas, on June 18, 2010. She was sentenced on May 31, 2012.

Linda Anita Carty was 42 when she kidnapped and murdered a 20-year-old woman and the victim’s infant son in Houston on May 16, 2001. She was sentenced on February 21, 2002.

Lisa Coleman was 28 when she murdered a 9-year-old boy in Arlington, Texas, on July 26, 2004. She was sentenced on July 7, 2006.

Cathy Lynn Henderson was 37 when she murdered a 3-month-old boy she was babysitting near Austin, Texas, on January 21, 1994. She was sentenced on May 25, 1995.

Brittany Marlowe Holberg was 23 when she murdered an 80-year-old man in Amarillo, Texas, on November 13, 1996. She was sentenced on March 27, 1998.

Melissa Elizabeth Lucio was 38 when she murdered her 2-year-old daughter in Harlington, Texas, on February 16, 2007. She was sentenced in August 2008.

Kimberly Lagayle McCarthy was 36 when she murdered a 71-year-old woman in Lancaster, Texas, on July 7, 1997. She was originally sentenced in December 1998. Her sentence was reversed in 2001 and she was again sentenced to death on November 1, 2002.

Darla Lynn Routier was 26 when she murdered her 5-year-old son in Rowlett, Texas, on June 6, 1996. She was sentenced on February 4, 1997.

Erica Yvonne Sheppard was 19 when she murdered a 43-year-old woman in Houston on June 30, 1993. She was sentenced on March 3, 1995.

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Photos: Women of death row

The events that ensnared both families started when Cooper was 15 and devised a plan to steal money with her friends.

Arizona woman’s murder conviction, death sentence overturned

After smoking marijuana and drinking wine, they went to the home of 78-year-old Bible teacher Ruth Pelke, armed with a knife. Cooper struck Pelke with a vase, cut her arms and legs, then stabbed her in the chest and stomach 33 times, according to Indiana court records.

Their loot? Just $10.

An Indiana judge sentenced Cooper to death on July 11, 1986, at the age of 16.

More than 2 million people signed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to overturn Cooper’s death sentence.

Maryland legislature votes to end death penalty

Pope John Paul II personally appealed to Indiana Gov. Robert Orr on behalf of the teen.

But perhaps the most surprising advocate for Cooper’s life was the victim’s grandson.

Bill Pelke said he forgave Cooper for the murder three months after she was sentenced to death row at Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis.

“For a year and a half I thought about how my grandmother died, and it was horrible,” Pelke said. “I started thinking about my grandmother’s life and all the wonderful things about her. I realized I no longer wanted Paula to die. I wanted to help her. I realized forgiveness had already taken place, and it brought a tremendous healing to me.”

The Indiana Supreme Court reversed the death sentence in 1989 to 60 years in prison.

Pelke tried to visit Cooper in 1986, but the two didn’t come face to face until eight years later. The two struck up an unlikely friendship over the years. Now they send messages through the prison e-mail system every week.

“I am happy she is getting out tomorrow and I wish her the very best,” Pelke said Sunday. “She is supposed to call me when she gets out, and we’re supposed to meet and go shopping. I told her whenever she got out, I’d treat her. I have a friend who would like to buy her an outfit, and I want to buy her a computer.”

Exonerated inmates protest Florida death row law

See also: Florida man’s Death Row Diary

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(CNN) — David Michael Perez was “terrified of parenting” and swore it off for the first 30 years of his life.

It was too much of a sacrifice: Fatherhood is expensive, for starters, and he thought he just wasn’t cut out for it.

“I was afraid to do something that would make me so vulnerable. Of course the things that cause us to feel vulnerable (and hence scared) are the things that bring us the greatest joy and connection,” Perez, 33, wrote in an e-mail.

Then he met a girl. And now they have an 11-month-old boy.

He was excited to discuss this “amazing transformation,” but had a hard time finding equally excited fathers to commiserate with. So he created a space for sharing. He co-founded Kindling, a literary journal that is an “exploration in fatherhood.”

Kids: What makes my dad great

Most important job: Being a Dad

2012: Open Mic: Father’s Day

Even more Bill Tull’s Father’s Day tips

Perez is not the only one looking to be a more involved dad.

In the last 50 years, fathers have taken on more child care and housework, though women still do the majority, according to a Pew Research study released in March. In 1965, dads spent an average of 2½ hours per week on child care versus mothers’ 10 hours per week. By 2011, fathers were spending seven hours a week caring for kids, while mothers spent 14.

Dads aren’t who they used to be.

Perez describes his own father as “an incredibly selfless, loving father” who allowed him room to be himself and let him know he was unconditionally loved, though his dad was not the touchy-feely type.

“Like most men of his generation, he definitely worked a lot and I know he wishes that had not been the case,” he wrote. “Being from a Catholic, Mexican family, he was definitely emotionally reserved. I strive to be more emotionally engaged not only with my son but also with myself.”

So, if today’s dad is no longer the all-business provider who is less emotionally engaged than Mom, and he’s not the bumbling, disconnected dad of the past 30 years in popular culture (read: Homer Simpson), then who is he? And do we appreciate him for his sacrifices as much as we do mothers?

Let’s hear it for dear old Dad

Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church when she came up with the idea to designate a day to celebrate fathers. Her dad, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran and a widower who raised her and her five brothers after her mother died.

She took her notion to local churches and the YMCA, and in June 1910 the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.

But Father’s Day didn’t catch on as quickly as Mother’s Day.

The holiday did not become official until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation for dad’s day. By the time President Nixon signed it into law in 1972, Mother’s Day had been a national holiday for 58 years.

The foot-dragging is understandable: Most mothers share a nine-month-long physical bond with their biological children; they are typically the emotional touch stone of the family as well as the workhorse of the home, as the March Pew study made clear.

Reverence for Mother as the parental nucleus is reflected in how we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Average spending last year on Mother’s Day gifts was $168.94, versus $119.84 for dads, according to the National Retail Federation.

This year, spending for father’s day is up 2.1% from the previous year, and projected to reach $13.2 billion. For Mother’s Day, that figure is $17.1 billion, up .2%, according to research firm IBISWorld.

html” target=”_blank”Paid leave lets dads build parenting foundation

Dads want it all, too

While fathers are contributing more labor at home these days, more women are becoming the chief or sole financial provider of the household in a recovering economy. In a first, mothers currently are the only or primary financial provider in 40% of homes with children under 18.

“Women have always had legitimacy in the home, and the women’s movement has given women legitimacy in the workplace,” said Professor Brad Harrington of Boston College. “Men have always had legitimacy in the workplace. But have they had a similar credibility in the home? No.”

In the midst of the debate about work-life balance, leaning in and having it all, it is not just women who are examining how their roles have evolved.

Experts say more value has been placed on mothers, sometimes to the detriment of the critical role fathers play. But men want it all, too, and are recognizing that a better balance means engaging more as a father.

“If we’re going to be serious about fatherhood, we need to talk about how they are equally important to the well-being of their child,” said Kenneth Braswell, executive director of Fathers Inc., a nonprofit that encourages “responsible fatherhood” and mentoring.

“Responsible fatherhood doesn’t mean anti-motherhood. We are trying to ensure that fathers are nurturing, protective, providers who are a compliment to the child’s mother.”

Tough choices

Brad Harrington remembered a three-year assignment in London as one of the highlights of his 20-year career with computer company Hewlett Packard. But In 1993, he surprised himself when he turned down an opportunity to return to Europe for a prestigious job offer after his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In 1999, he was married with two children and a baby on the way when another opportunity arose for a stint abroad. This time, family considerations took priority again, and he stayed in America.

That was when he realized the outsize impact of family on career choices. At that point, he transitioned out of organizational leadership and moved into academia. The change offered fewer financial rewards, but it provided the chance to do interesting work while living a more balanced life.

Now, as executive director for the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, he wants to be a catalyst for discussing how men can make progress on the home front, the way women have in the workplace.

“Young men are saying I want to be an economic provider but also provide for the emotional needs of my children,” he said.

He saw the shift in perspective in his 2011 study, The New Dad: Caring, committed and conflicted, which surveyed mainly upper-middle-class white fathers from Fortune 500 companies. In one measurement asking about the traits of good fathers, respondents placed a higher value on “nontraditional” aspects of fatherhood, including emotional support, being present and teaching rather than discipline, financial security and child care tasks.

Harrington noticed a difference in the evolution of fathers at home and mothers at work. While women were gaining strides in being capable in both work and home life, men, he says, have not done as good a job to gain a foothold in the home.

Opinion: Fathers, stop coddling your kids

Staying engaged in fatherhood

Braswell, of Fathers Inc., said the idea of marriage and commitment is not what it was in the 1930s and 1940s. Back then there were two things that held a community together: 1. If you had a baby, you had to be married. 2. Divorce was unacceptable.

Today, he said, there are no rules. Now, census estimates show about half of first marriages end in divorce for women; the number for men is closer to one-third.

Unfortunately a new parenting model has not been created to deal with this reality, Branswell said.

“How do you do something in the place of marriage that gets the same outcome? What you do is start talking about relationships.”

He’s a married, churchgoing father of four who maintains relationships with the mothers of his two kids not by his wife.

His own early experience and frustrations to peacefully co-parent led him to focus his professional work on fatherhood.

For him, it underscored the importance of teaching fathers who are not with their children’s mother how to be involved, and he says it works.

“The vast majority of dads … want to have a positive relationship with their child. Most of them are good dads and want to be better dads,” he said.

Fifty years ago, the idea of a great dad was little more than a father who was a good provider and disciplinarian. Today, dads are increasingly looked to as sole or single parents, to support the family emotionally and to help their partners succeed in the wider world.

Society isn’t just expecting more from fathers; fathers are expecting more from themselves.

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(CNN) — Faced with a sex scandal in his ranks, the chief of Australia’s army delivered a blunt message to his troops: Treat your female comrades properly or “get out.”

Lt. Gen. David Morrison announced last week that three soldiers had been suspended and he was weighing action against five others implicated in the distribution of videos he called ”demeaning, explicit and profane.” In a follow-up statement posted on the service’s YouTube page, Morrison told soldiers that female troops “are vital to us maintaining our capability now and into the future.”

“If that does not suit you, then get out,” he said. “You may find another employer where your attitude and behavior is acceptable, but I doubt it. The same goes for those who think that toughness is built on humiliating others.”

Australian women began serving in auxiliary units and as nurses in the early 20th century and were integrated into the armed services in noncombat units in the 1970s and ’80s. They were allowed to join combat units in 2011, and female troops “have proven themselves worthy of the best traditions of the Australian army,” Morrison said.

“No one has every explained to me how the exploitation or degradation of others enhances capability or honors the traditions of the Australian army,” he said in his message to the troops. “I will be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values, and I need every one of you to support me in achieving this.”

Australian news outlets reported last week that at least 17 soldiers circulated video of themselves having sex with women. The videos were shared without the women’s knowledge. Some of the material was distributed over military computer networks, and those under investigation include a lieutenant colonel and a major, Morrison told reporters on Thursday.

The distribution dates back to 2010, and another 90 people “may have been on the periphery” of the group’s e-mail exchanges, he said. Military investigators and the New South Wales state police are conducting the probe, and Morrison said he had apologized to some of the women involved.

Daughters and moms now consider rape before applying to military

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(CNN) — Britain’s electronic intelligence agency monitored delegates’ phones and tried to capture their passwords during an economic summit held there in 2009, the Guardian newspaper reported Sunday.

The targets included British allies such as Turkey and South Africa, the newspaper reported. The Guardian cited documents provided by Edward Snowden, the American computer analyst now spilling secrets of the U.S. intelligence community.

The latest report was published on the eve of another economic summit hosted by the British government — the Group of Eight economic summit in Northern Ireland. According to the newspaper, the documents show that the British signals intelligence agency GCHQ used “ground-breaking intelligence capabilities” to intercept calls made by members of the larger G-20 conference delegations at meetings in London.

Former intelligence worker Edward Snowden, 29, revealed himself as the source of documents outlining a massive effort by the NSA to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans. He says he just wanted the public to know what the government was doing. “Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re being watched and recorded,” he said. While he has not been charged, the FBI is conducting an investigation into the leaks.

Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers in 1971. The top-secret documents revealed that senior American leaders, including three presidents, knew the Vietnam War was an unwinnable, tragic quagmire. Further, they showed that the government had lied to Congress and the public about the progress of the war. Ellsberg surrendered to authorities and was charged as a spy. During his trial, the court learned that President Richard Nixon’s administration had embarked on a campaign to discredit Ellsberg, illegally wiretapping him and breaking into his psychiatrist’s office. All charges against him were dropped. Since then he has lived a relatively quiet life as a respected author and lecturer.

Starting in 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service studied untreated syphilis in black men who thought they were getting free health care. The patients weren’t told of their affliction or sufficiently treated. Peter Buxtun, who worked for the Public Health Service, relayed information about the Tuskegee syphilis experiment to a reporter in 1972, which halted the 40-year study. His testimony at congressional hearings led to an overhaul of the Health, Education and Welfare rules concerning work with human subjects. A class-action lawsuit was settled out-of-court for $10 million, with the U.S. government promising free medical care to survivors and their families. Here, participants talk with a study coordinator.

In 2005, retired deputy FBI director Mark Felt revealed himself to be the whistle-blower “Deep Throat” in the Watergate scandal. He anonymously assisted Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward with many of their stories about the Nixon administration’s cover-up after the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The stories sparked a congressional investigation that eventually led to President Nixon’s resignation in 1974. The Post won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage. Felt was convicted on unrelated conspiracy charges in 1980 and eventually pardoned by President Ronald Reagan before slipping into obscurity for the next quarter-century. He died in 2008 at age 95.

Mordechai Vanunu, who worked as a technician at Israel’s nuclear research facility, leaked information to a British newspaper and led nuclear arms analysts to conclude that Israel possessed a stockpile of nuclear weapons. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its weapons program. An Israeli court convicted Vanunu in 1986 after Israeli intelligence agents captured him in Italy. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Since his release in 2004, he has been arrested on a number of occasions for violating terms of his parole.

President Ronald Reagan addresses the media in 1987, months after the disclosure of the Iran-Contra affair. A secret operation carried out by an American military officer used proceeds from weapons sales to Iran to fund the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua and attempted to secure the release of U.S. hostages held by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mehdi Hashemi, an officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, leaked evidence of the deal to a Lebanese newspaper in 1986. Reagan’s closest aides maintain he did not fully know, and only reluctantly came to accept, the circumstances of the operation.

Tobacco industry executive Jeffrey Wigand issued a memo to his company in 1992 about his concerns regarding tobacco additives. He was fired in March 1993 and subsequently contacted by “60 Minutes” and persuaded to tell his story on CBS. He claimed that Brown Williamson knowingly used additives that were carcinogenic and addictive and spent millions covering it up. He also testified in a landmark case in Mississippi that resulted in a $246 billion settlement from the tobacco industry. Wigand has received public recognition for his actions and continues to crusade against Big Tobacco. He was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the 1999 film “The Insider.”

For 10 years, Frederic Whitehurst complained mostly in vain about practices at the FBI’s world-renowned crime lab, where he worked. His efforts eventually led to a 1997 investigation that found lab agents produced inaccurate and scientifically flawed testimony in major cases, including the Oklahoma City and World Trade Center bombings. The Justice Department recommended major reforms but also criticized Whitehurst for “overstated and incendiary” allegations. He also faced disciplinary action for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into how some of his allegations were leaked to a magazine. After a yearlong paid suspension he left the bureau in 1998 with a settlement worth more than $1.16 million.

FBI whistle-blower Coleen Rowley accused the bureau of hindering efforts to investigate a suspected terrorist that could have disrupted plans for the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. In 2002 she fired off a 13-page letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller and flew to Washington to hand-deliver copies to two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and meet with committee staffers. The letter accused the bureau of deliberately undermining requests to look into Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the United States of playing a role in the attacks. She testified in front of Congress and the 9/11 Commission about the FBI’s mishandling of information. Rowley was selected as one of Time magazine’s People of the Year in 2002, along with whistle-blowers Sherron Watkins of Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom.

Sherron Watkins, a former vice president at Enron, sent an anonymous letter to founder Kenneth Lay in 2001 warning him the company had accounting irregularities. The memo eventually reached the public and she later testified before Congress about her concerns and the company’s wrongdoings. More than 4,000 Enron employees lost their jobs, and many also lost their life savings, when the energy giant declared bankruptcy in 2001. Investors lost billions of dollars. An investigation in 2002 found that Enron executives reaped millions of dollars from off-the-books partnerships and violated basic rules of accounting and ethics. Many were sentenced to prison for their roles in the Enron scandal.

Cynthia Cooper and her team of auditors uncovered massive fraud at WorldCom in 2002. They found that the long-distance telephone provider had used $3.8 billion in questionable accounting entries to inflate earnings over the past five quarters. By the end of 2003, the total fraud was estimated to be $11 billion. The company filed for bankruptcy protection and five executives ended up in prison. Cooper started her own consulting firm and told her story in the book “Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower.”

In 2003, federal air marshal Robert MacLean anonymously tipped off an MSNBC reporter that because of budget concerns, the TSA was temporarily suspending missions that would require marshals to stay in hotels just days after they were briefed about a new “potential plot” to hijack U.S. airliners. The news caused an immediate uproar on Capitol Hill and the TSA retreated, withdrawing the scheduling cuts before they went into effect. MacLean was later investigated and fired for the unauthorized disclosure of “sensitive security information.”

Joe Darby is the whistle-blower behind the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in Iraq. He says he asked Army Reserve Spc. Charles Graner Jr. for photos from their travels so he could share them with family. Instead, he was given photos of prisoner abuse. Darby eventually alerted the U.S. military command, triggering an investigation and global outrage when the scandal came to light in 2004. Graner was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the abuse. He was released in 2011 after serving 6½ years of his sentence. The military and members of Darby’s own family ostracized him, calling him a traitor. Eventually he and his wife had to enter protective custody.

The New York Times reported in 2005 that in the months after the September 11, 2001, attacks, President George W. Bush authorized the U.S. National Security Agency to eavesdrop without a court warrant on people in the United States, including American citizens, suspected of communicating with al Qaeda members overseas. The Bush administration staunchly defended the controversial surveillance program. Russ Tice, an NSA insider, came forward as one of the anonymous sources used by the Times. He said he was concerned about alleged abuses and a lack of oversight. Here, President Bush participates in a conversation about the Patriot Act in Buffalo, New York, in April 2004.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. His court-martial began on June 3. He has pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 charges against him and could face up to two decades in jail. He has pleaded not guilty to the most serious charge – that of aiding U.S. enemies, which carries the potential for a life sentence. At a February proceeding, Manning read a statement detailing why and how he sent classified material in 2010 to WikiLeaks, a group that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information.

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Notable leakers and whistleblowers

NSA whistleblower: Hero or traitor?

Rep.: NSA isn’t listening to your calls

Hong Kong rallies to support NSA leaker

Analysts received round-the-clock summaries of calls that were being made, and GCHQ set up Internet cafes for delegates in hopes of intercepting e-mails and capturing keystrokes, the Guardian reported. One briefing slide explained that would give intelligence agencies the ability to read delegates’ e-mails “before/as they do,” providing “sustained intelligence options against them even after conference has finished.”

Bigger threat: Snowden or NSA?

GCHQ is Britain’s equivalent of the National Security Agency, the highly secretive U.S. communications intelligence service. The Guardian reported that the NSA had attempted to eavesdrop on then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the conference as his phone calls passed through satellite links to Moscow and briefed its British counterparts on the effects.

Snowden, 29, worked for the NSA through a private contractor firm until May, when he decamped to Hong Kong. He went public a week ago as the source of articles by the Guardian and The Washington Post, saying the NSA’s efforts posed “an existential threat to democracy.”

Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said Sunday he was aware of the Guardian’s latest report but declined to comment on it.

“What we should be focused on is how irresponsible and egregious these recent leaks are,” he told CNN. “It’s impossible to know exactly how much damage is being done by these disclosures, but they will have an effect on our counterterrorism efforts.”

Snowden’s revelations about the NSA’s collection of millions of records from U.S. telecommunications and technology firms have led to a furious debate within the United States about the scale and scope of surveillance programs that date to the days after the 2001 al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington. Defenders say the programs — approved by Congress after a warrantless surveillance effort under the Bush administration was revealed in 2005 — have protected American lives by helping agents break up terrorism plots.

Cheney defends NSA, calls Obama’s credibility ‘nonexistent’

Some did it for the money, some did it for idealism, others didn’t do it at all. Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealed himself Monday as the leaker of details of U.S. government surveillance programs to The Guardian. The U.S. has seen a number of high profile leak scandals including the Pentagon Papers during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Click through to see more high-profile intelligence leaking cases.

Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers in 1971. The top-secret documents revealed that senior American leaders, including three presidents, knew the Vietnam War was an unwinnable, tragic quagmire. Further, they showed that the government had lied to Congress and the public about the progress of the war. Ellsberg surrendered to authorities and was charged as a spy. During his trial, the court learned that President Richard Nixon’s administration had embarked on a campaign to discredit Ellsberg, illegally wiretapping him and breaking into his psychiatrist’s office. All charges against him were dropped. Since then he has lived a relatively quiet life as a respected author and lecturer.

Jonathan Pollard is a divisive figure in U.S.-Israel relations. The former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst was caught spying for Israel in 1985 and was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly called for President Barack Obama to release Pollard after Pollard’s wife appealed to Netanyahu.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is an Army intelligence specialist who is charged with passing along classified material to WikiLeaks, a group that facilitates anonymous leaking of secret information. Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him and could face 20 years in prison. But he pleaded not guilty to the most serious charge, aiding U.S. enemies, which carries a potential life sentence.

Wen Ho Lee was a scientist at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico who was charged with 59 counts of downloading classified information onto computer tapes and passing it to China. Lee eventually agreed to plead guilty to a since count of mishandling classified information after prosecutors deemed their case to be too weak. He was released after nine months in solitary confinement. Lee later received a $1.6 million in separate settlements with the government and five news agencies after he sued them, accusing the government of leaking damaging information about him to the media.

Members of the Bush administration were accused retaliating against Valerie Plame, pictured, by blowing her cover in 2003 as a U.S. intelligence operative, after her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, wrote a series of New York Times op-eds questioning the basis of certain facts the administration used to make the argument to go to war in Iraq.

In 2007, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, was convicted on charges related to the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with the case. His 30-month sentence was commuted by President George W. Bush. Cheney told a special prosecutor in 2004 that he had no idea who leaked the information.

Aldrich Ames, a 31-year CIA employee, pleaded guilty to espionage charges in 1994 and was sentenced to life in prison. Ames was a CIA case worker who specialized in Soviet intelligence services and had been passing classified information to the KGB since 1985. U.S. intelligence officials believe that information passed along by Ames led to the arrest and execution of Russian officials they had recruited to spy for them.

Robert Hanssen pleaded guilty to espionage charges in 2001 in return for the government not seeking the death penalty. Hanssen began spying for the Soviet Union in 1979, three years after going to work for the FBI and prosecutors said he collected $1.4 million for the information he turned over to the Cold War enemy. In 1981, Hanssen’s wife caught him with classified documents and convinced him to stop spying, but he started passing secrets to the Soviets again four years later. In 1991, he broke off relations with the KGB, but resumed his espionage career in 1999, this time with the Russian Intelligence Service. He was arrested after making a drop in a Virginia park in 2001.

John Walker ran a father and son spy ring, passing classified material to the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1985. Walker was a Navy communication specialist with financial difficulties when he walked into the Soviet Embassy and sold a piece of cyphering equipment. Navy and Defense officials said that Walker enabled the Soviet Union to unscramble military communications and pinpoint the location of U.S. submarines at all times. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors promised leniency for Walker’s son Michael Walker, a former Navy seaman.

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Sharing secrets: U.S. intelligence leaks

Guardian columnist defends role

Declassified: Behind security clearance

Facebook admits role in NSA surveillance

Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, a former NSA director, told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS that what the agency collects are “essentially billing records” that detail the time, duration and number of a phone call. The records are added to a database that agents can query in cases involving a terror investigation overseas, and agents can’t eavesdrop on Americans’ calls without an order from a secret court that handles intelligence matters, he said.

If a phone number related to that investigation has links to a domestic phone number, “We’ve got to go back to the court,” he said.

But critics such as Sen. Mark Udall, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had raised questions about the scale of the program even before Snowden’s leak. Udall told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he doesn’t believe the program is making Americans any safer, “and I think it’s ultimately, perhaps, a violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

“I think we owe it to the American people to have a fulsome debate in the open about the extent of these programs,” said Udall, D-Colorado. “You have a law that’s been interpreted secretly by a secret court that then issues secret orders to generate a secret program. I just don’t think this is an American approach to a world in which we have great threats.”

But President Barack Obama does not feel that he has violated the privacy of any American, his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” McDonough said the president will discuss the need to “find the right balance, especially in this new situation where we find ourselves with all of us reliant on Internet, on e-mail, on texting.”

Shortly after the stories broke, Obama publicly defended the NSA programs as “modest encroachments on privacy” that help prevent terrorism.

CNN’s Jessica Yellin contributed to this report.

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(CNN) — David Michael Perez was “terrified of parenting” and swore it off for the first 30 years of his life.

It was too much of a sacrifice: Fatherhood is expensive, for starters, and he thought he just wasn’t cut out for it.

“I was afraid to do something that would make me so vulnerable. Of course the things that cause us to feel vulnerable (and hence scared) are the things that bring us the greatest joy and connection,” Perez, 33, wrote in an e-mail.

Then he met a girl. And now they have an 11-month-old boy.

He was excited to discuss this “amazing transformation,” but had a hard time finding equally excited fathers to commiserate with. So he created a space for sharing. He co-founded Kindling, a literary journal that is an “exploration in fatherhood.”

Kids: What makes my dad great

Most important job: Being a Dad

2012: Open Mic: Father’s Day

Even more Bill Tull’s Father’s Day tips

Perez is not the only one looking to be a more involved dad.

In the last 50 years, fathers have taken on more child care and housework, though women still do the majority, according to a Pew Research study released in March. In 1965, dads spent an average of 2½ hours per week on child care versus mothers’ 10 hours per week. By 2011, fathers were spending seven hours a week caring for kids, while mothers spent 14.

Dads aren’t who they used to be.

Perez describes his own father as “an incredibly selfless, loving father” who allowed him room to be himself and let him know he was unconditionally loved, though his dad was not the touchy-feely type.

“Like most men of his generation, he definitely worked a lot and I know he wishes that had not been the case,” he wrote. “Being from a Catholic, Mexican family, he was definitely emotionally reserved. I strive to be more emotionally engaged not only with my son but also with myself.”

So, if today’s dad is no longer the all-business provider who is less emotionally engaged than Mom, and he’s not the bumbling, disconnected dad of the past 30 years in popular culture (read: Homer Simpson), then who is he? And do we appreciate him for his sacrifices as much as we do mothers?

Let’s hear it for dear old Dad

Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church when she came up with the idea to designate a day to celebrate fathers. Her dad, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran and a widower who raised her and her five brothers after her mother died.

She took her notion to local churches and the YMCA, and in June 1910 the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.

But Father’s Day didn’t catch on as quickly as Mother’s Day.

The holiday did not become official until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation for dad’s day. By the time President Nixon signed it into law in 1972, Mother’s Day had been a national holiday for 58 years.

The foot-dragging is understandable: Most mothers share a nine-month-long physical bond with their biological children; they are typically the emotional touch stone of the family as well as the workhorse of the home, as the March Pew study made clear.

Reverence for Mother as the parental nucleus is reflected in how we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Average spending last year on Mother’s Day gifts was $168.94, versus $119.84 for dads, according to the National Retail Federation.

This year, spending for father’s day is up 2.1% from the previous year, and projected to reach $13.2 billion. For Mother’s Day, that figure is $17.1 billion, up .2%, according to research firm IBISWorld.

html” target=”_blank”Paid leave lets dads build parenting foundation

Dads want it all, too

While fathers are contributing more labor at home these days, more women are becoming the chief or sole financial provider of the household in a recovering economy. In a first, mothers currently are the only or primary financial provider in 40% of homes with children under 18.

“Women have always had legitimacy in the home, and the women’s movement has given women legitimacy in the workplace,” said Professor Brad Harrington of Boston College. “Men have always had legitimacy in the workplace. But have they had a similar credibility in the home? No.”

In the midst of the debate about work-life balance, leaning in and having it all, it is not just women who are examining how their roles have evolved.

Experts say more value has been placed on mothers, sometimes to the detriment of the critical role fathers play. But men want it all, too, and are recognizing that a better balance means engaging more as a father.

“If we’re going to be serious about fatherhood, we need to talk about how they are equally important to the well-being of their child,” said Kenneth Braswell, executive director of Fathers Inc., a nonprofit that encourages “responsible fatherhood” and mentoring.

“Responsible fatherhood doesn’t mean anti-motherhood. We are trying to ensure that fathers are nurturing, protective, providers who are a compliment to the child’s mother.”

Tough choices

Brad Harrington remembered a three-year assignment in London as one of the highlights of his 20-year career with computer company Hewlett Packard. But In 1993, he surprised himself when he turned down an opportunity to return to Europe for a prestigious job offer after his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In 1999, he was married with two children and a baby on the way when another opportunity arose for a stint abroad. This time, family considerations took priority again, and he stayed in America.

That was when he realized the outsize impact of family on career choices. At that point, he transitioned out of organizational leadership and moved into academia. The change offered fewer financial rewards, but it provided the chance to do interesting work while living a more balanced life.

Now, as executive director for the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, he wants to be a catalyst for discussing how men can make progress on the home front, the way women have in the workplace.

“Young men are saying I want to be an economic provider but also provide for the emotional needs of my children,” he said.

He saw the shift in perspective in his 2011 study, The New Dad: Caring, committed and conflicted, which surveyed mainly upper-middle-class white fathers from Fortune 500 companies. In one measurement asking about the traits of good fathers, respondents placed a higher value on “nontraditional” aspects of fatherhood, including emotional support, being present and teaching rather than discipline, financial security and child care tasks.

Harrington noticed a difference in the evolution of fathers at home and mothers at work. While women were gaining strides in being capable in both work and home life, men, he says, have not done as good a job to gain a foothold in the home.

Opinion: Fathers, stop coddling your kids

Staying engaged in fatherhood

Braswell, of Fathers Inc., said the idea of marriage and commitment is not what it was in the 1930s and 1940s. Back then there were two things that held a community together: 1. If you had a baby, you had to be married. 2. Divorce was unacceptable.

Today, he said, there are no rules. Now, census estimates show about half of first marriages end in divorce for women; the number for men is closer to one-third.

Unfortunately a new parenting model has not been created to deal with this reality, Branswell said.

“How do you do something in the place of marriage that gets the same outcome? What you do is start talking about relationships.”

He’s a married, churchgoing father of four who maintains relationships with the mothers of his two kids not by his wife.

His own early experience and frustrations to peacefully co-parent led him to focus his professional work on fatherhood.

For him, it underscored the importance of teaching fathers who are not with their children’s mother how to be involved, and he says it works.

“The vast majority of dads … want to have a positive relationship with their child. Most of them are good dads and want to be better dads,” he said.

Fifty years ago, the idea of a great dad was little more than a father who was a good provider and disciplinarian. Today, dads are increasingly looked to as sole or single parents, to support the family emotionally and to help their partners succeed in the wider world.

Society isn’t just expecting more from fathers; fathers are expecting more from themselves.

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(CNN) — There are few industries that haven’t been shaken up by the game-changing potential of 3-D printing, and aviation is no exception.

While it may be fun to imagine manufacturers spitting out planes at the touch of a button, the reality is more low key, though no less revolutionary.

As is usually the case with aviation, it is all kicking off with a jet engine.

Engine maker CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and the French company Snecma, has created the LEAP engine — an acronym for “leading edge aviation propulsion” that the company hopes reflects just how innovative the new aircraft component is.

LEAP has many futuristic features, including a 3-D-printed nozzle, the part of the plane responsible for burning fuel.

2012: The 3-D printing revolution

Printing the future in 3-D

Think 3-D printing is cool? Try 4-D

“This technology is actually enabling us to create designs that wouldn’t physically be possible to make with standard conventional machining,” said Gareth Richards, LEAP’s program manager.

Read more: Compare taxi fares from the airport to downtown

While GE has been using 3-D printing for years to make plastic prototypes, only recently has the technology matured to the point of creating objects with stronger materials.

“We can do this in almost any metal you care to choose. We can do it in aluminum or nickel orsteel. This is not 3-D printing like you might have seen on some tech show where people are making parts from plastic out of their basement. This isn’t prototyping, where you have to figure out how to make it for real. This is making fully functioning production parts out of real aerospace materials,” said Richards.

LEAP incorporates another first; the engine’s fan blade is made from a material called Ceramic Matrix Composite. Essentially, it is ceramic that is as tough as steel, although unlike metal, it can withstand extreme temperatures.

More important, it is lighter than any alloy previously used. The manufacturer says the material used in the fan blades and other components makes a plane 1,000 pounds lighter than normal.

“LEAP reduces fuel burn by 15% over its predecessor engine. That adds up to several million dollars saved per year per plane,” said GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy.

Read more: Airbus A350 XWB unveiled

Thus far, the new engine has been a sexy sell for airlines. CFM hasn’t even started ground testing the engine, and they already have 4,500 orders from the likes of Qantas, American Airlines, Virgin and Southwest Airlines.

CFM is planning for the engines to go into service by 2016, which means it needs to produce 1,500 engines a year. But the technology makes the goal achievable by cutting manufacturing time.

“For our most complex parts, it’s common for the time it takes to be measured not only in weeks, but months or even more than a year,” said Richards. “Now, we’re talking about going from the computer file to the finished part in hours or days.”

Read more: The dawn of driverless cars

Airbus has also started playing with additive manufacturing. Peter Sander, of Airbus’s Innovation Cell, imagines that by 2050 the company will be selling commercial planes made almost entirely from 3-D printed parts.

For now, Airbus is content with making printed brackets, which will become a standard part of production by 2016. Each component made from 3-D printing, Sander reckons, is 25 percent lighter than the equivalent made from traditional manufacturing.

“Weight reduction is our driving force, because less weight means less fuel,” says Sander.

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Several hundred protesters took to Hong Kong’s streets on Saturday to support Edward Snowden, a week after the 29-year-old whistleblower behind the U.S. National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program revealed he was hiding out in the city.

The rain led protesters determined to show their support to prepare laminated placards and umbrellas painted with slogans.

Protesters and media gathered in Chater Garden in the city’s business district to kick off the three-hour protest.

“We’re rallying in order not to disappoint him and to ask Hong Kong to protect his well-being, not to extradite him, and to uphold Hong Kong law,” said blogger-activist and protest co-organizer Tom Grundy (L).

“The U.S is supposed to be the champion of democracy, but it’s been conducting blanket surveillance on a global scale. If the guy at the top has access to all our lines of communication, how is…anyone ever going to start a revolution?” said Claudio Mo, a member of the Hong Kong legislature.

Standing in Chater Garden in the city’s business district, Hong Kong legislator Albert Ho said the protest was a “march for justice.”

The protest brought together representatives from 27 civil rights, labor rights, and left-wing democratic groups, as well as many ordinary members of the public and media.

Organizers announced an overall turnout of 900 protesters, while police cited a peak turnout of 300.

Ruth Jopling brought her daughters, Amber, 8, and Jade, 3, to the protest, who held cut-out masks on sticks bearing Snowden’s image. “It’s not just about our generation, but the next generation as well,” Jopling said. Amber echoed her mother’s sentiment: “When I grow up, I can tell my children about this.”

“As Americans, it’s kind of disheartening to know (the surveillance program) is going on behind our backs and we don’t have a say in it,” said Adi Koul (R), a University of Texas student studying abroad in Hong Kong. “It’s empowering to see people who aren’t necessarily American fighting for something they feel is a universal human right.”

In a televised interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday on how Hong Kong would handle Snowden’s case, Leung repeatedly responded that he “does not comment on individual cases.” His stonewalling infuriated many Hong Kongers.

Protesters unfurl a banner en route to the U.S. consulate, where organizers presented an open letter addressed to ambassador Stephen Young.

George Orwell’s concept of “Big Brother” dominated much of the signage and discourse.

Hong Kong legislator “Long Hair” spoke to the crowd at the second rallying point outside the U.S. consulate.

Police at the Hong Kong government headquarters in Tamar blocked off most of the square with two circles of fences, forcing protesters into a narrow outer perimeter.

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Hong Kong (CNN) — When U.S. citizen Edward Snowden decided to flee to Hong Kong because of its “spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent,” he may not have anticipated that some in the city would launch a protest backing him.

Several hundred demonstrators took to Hong Kong’s streets in the rain Saturday voicing support for Snowden a week after the 29-year-old computer technician, who is believed to be hiding out somewhere in the city, revealed himself as the source of leaked documents exposing an international surveillance program of internet and telephone communications operated by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

The revelation of his presence — as well as his claims that Hong Kong had been subject to the surveillance — has sparked heated speculation whether Hong Kong, a special administrative region — one that is semi-autonomous — of the People’s Republic of China, would prove to be a safe haven for him. Snowden said his intention was to “ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate.”

Former U.S. spy talks Snowden’s future

Support for Edward Snowden in Hong Kong

Snowden: U.S. hacked targets in China

Could the NSA leaker defect to China?

“We’re rallying in order not to disappoint him and to ask Hong Kong to protect his well-being, not to extradite him, and to uphold Hong Kong law,” said blogger, activist and protest organizer Tom Grundy.

Amid the blowing of whistles and chants of “Protect Snowden!” and “NSA has no say!” the protest brought together representatives from 27 civil rights, labor rights, and left-wing democratic groups, as well as many ordinary members of the public as well as media. Under the drizzling sky, protesters determined to show their support held laminated placards and umbrellas painted with slogans.

Adi Koul and Jesus Meza, students from the University of Texas at Austin who are studying abroad in Hong Kong, said they found the protest “really refreshing.”

“As Americans, it’s kind of disheartening to know [the surveillance program] is going on behind our backs and we don’t have a say in it,” said Koul. “It’s empowering to see people who aren’t necessarily American fighting for something they feel is a universal human right.”

Ruth Jopling brought her daughters, Amber, aged eight, and three-year-old Jade, along to the protest; the children held cut-out masks on sticks bearing Snowden’s image. “It’s not just about our generation, but the next generation as well,” Jopling said. Amber echoed her mother’s sentiment: “When I grow up, I can tell my children about this.”

Organizers claimed an overall turnout of 900 protesters; police said the demonstration had a peak turnout of 300 — a relatively small showing compared to major protests in Hong Kong, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of people. Grundy said plans for the protest only began on Monday, and that he would be pleased if 1,000 people turned out in the end.

The three-hour protest, which kicked off in a garden in the city’s business district and went on to the U.S. consulate and the Hong Kong government headquarters, failed to gain a strong sense of momentum, hampered in part by the narrow looping route allocated by the city’s authorities. At each rallying point, only a small group was able to gather around to hear the keynote speakers; most protesters were relegated to standing single or double file some distance away. By the time the protest moved outside the government headquarters to deliver an open letter to the city’s leader, Chief Executive C.Y. Leung, the crowd had dropped to about 100 people.

Snowden’s arrival in the city has heightened simmering fears about the ever-encroaching hand of Beijing in the city’s affairs and freedoms.

While Hong Kong has its own de facto constitution, judiciary, and legal system under the “one country two systems” policy, a deep mistrust runs in the city toward the government under Leung, who is widely viewed as being under the thumb of the Chinese central government.

In a televised interview with Bloomberg Wednesday, Leung repeatedly insisted he “does not comment on individual cases,” when asked how Hong Kong would handle Snowden’s case. His stonewalling infuriated many Hong Kongers.

“Judging from [this interview], I think he’s waiting for instructions from Beijing,” said Oiwan Lam, a blogger and activist with in-media, the civil advocacy group that organized the protest with Grundy.

Holder: Leaks ‘extremely damaging’

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Inside the mind of Edward Snowden

NSA leaker, girlfriend still in hiding

According to Hong Kong law, if the U.S. was to request the city to surrender Snowden, Beijing could step in only if its defence or foreign affairs would be significantly affected by Hong Kong’s actions. Beijing is not allowed to interfere with any asylum proceedings.

Nevertheless, many have expressed fears that Beijing will quietly influence Hong Kong’s handling of Snowden’s case.

“Hong Kong’s decisions are all based on the Chinese government,” said Sherry Hung, 24, a graduate student at Hong Kong Baptist University. “I don’t think Hong Kong can help Snowden,” she added, although she said it was important to show her support at the protest.

Others also note that Hong Kong has a track record of cooperating with the United States. In particular, they fear Hong Kong will not respect due process in the Snowden case, instead enabling him to be quietly whisked away. Local media in Hong Kong last year reported on the case of a Libyan dissident who launched legal action against the city’s government, accusing them of aiding in his “extraordinary rendition” and subsequent torture in prison.

“The biggest Western government — the U.S government — is his enemy. Now he can only count on us, the power of Hong Kong civil society and our legal system,” Ip Lam Chong of in-media told protesters. “I see this incident as a stress test for Hong Kong society and its legal system.”

Claudia Mo, a member of the Hong Kong legislature who addressed the protesters, said the city of Hong Kong “owes Snowden at least some response.”

“The U.S is supposed to be the champion of democracy, but it’s been conducting blanket surveillance on a global scale,” she said. “If the guy at the top has access to all our lines of communication, how is… anyone ever going to start a revolution?”

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/15/world/asia/hong-kong-snowden-protest/index.html?eref=edition

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