Unknown attackers fire at Cairo protesters, nine hurt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Nine people were hurt when unknown attackers fired at protesters camping at Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday, according to witnesses and Egyptian media, as opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Mursi's plans to vote on a new constitution geared up for a day of street demonstrations.

Police cars surrounded the square, the first time they had appeared in the area since November 23, shortly after a decree by the Islamist president giving himself sweeping temporary powers touched off widespread protests.

The attackers also threw petrol bombs which started a small fire, witnesses said. Many of the protesters, awakened by the noise, chanted: "The people want the downfall of the regime." Recorded recitations of the Koran were played over speakers in the square.

Leftists, liberals and other opposition groups have called for marches to the presidential palace in the afternoon to protest against the hastily arranged referendum on a new constitution planned for Saturday, which they say is polarizing the country.

Islamists, who dominated the body that drew up the constitution, have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning and that critics say could put Egypt in a religious straitjacket.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and opponents besieging Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, now ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades, but a decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians during the referendum and until the announcement of the results.

OPPOSITION SAYS MURSI DESTROYING CONSENSUS

Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy, one of the most prominent members of the National Salvation Front opposition coalition, said Mursi was driving a wedge between Egyptians and destroying prospects for consensus.

As well as pushing the early referendum, Mursi has angered opponents by taking sweeping temporary powers he said were necessary to secure the country's transition to stability after a popular uprising overthrew autocratic former president Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago.

"The road Mohamed Mursi is taking now does not create the possibility for national consensus," said Sabahy.

If the constitution was passed, he said: "Egypt will continue in this really charged state. It is certain that this constitution is driving us to more political polarization."

The National Salvation Front also includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

The opposition says the draft constitution fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no; they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

The continuing disruption is also casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Will Waterman, Mohammad Zargham and Jim Loney)

Read More..

N. Korea extends rocket launch window

SEOUL: North Korea on Monday extended the window for its planned rocket launch by one week, in order to deal with a "technical deficiency" with the first stage of the carrier.

The original December 10-22 window was extended to December 29, the Korean Committee of Space Technology said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The statement stressed that scientists and technicians were still "pushing forward" with preparations for the mission, which has been widely condemned by the international community.

"They, however, found technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket... and decided to extend the launch period," it said.

North Korea says the rocket launch is a peaceful mission aimed at putting a satellite in orbit.

The United States and its allies view it as a disguised ballistic missile test banned under UN resolutions prompted by the North's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

- AFP/ck

Read More..

Five lies your TV salesperson will tell you

Using the time-honored tactics of obfuscation, misdirection, and a little bit of fear, the people who try to sell you TVs can hit you with some heavy-duty lies.

Now this isn't to say that all TV sales people are bad, nor that any necessarily do this out of malice (there's plenty of misinformation out there confused as truth). But when it's your dollar on the line, being prepared with some facts can only be a good thing.

For a primer on all the jargon, check out "TV tech explainer: Every HDTV technology decoded."

'This TV has a million-to-one contrast ratio.'
No, it doesn't. Every TV manufacturer lies about contrast ratio. Not a single one is remotely accurate. So it's impossible to prescribe an exact number to any TV given only the manufacturers data. The fact is, plasmas have better native contrast ratios than LCDs (LED or otherwise). There are three local-dimming LED LCDs on the market this year (Elite by Sharp, Sony HX950, and LG LM9600), and they're all extremely expensive. These offer similar contrast ratios than the best plasmas, though not exactly. For more info, check out "Contrast ratio (or how every TV manufacturer lies to you)."

'This TV has better sound.'
You know what, let's say they're right. Let's say TV A has better sound than TV B. The fact is, no TV sounds good. So all they're really saying is, "This TV sounds less bad than this other TV."

The thinness that we all love in flat-panel TVs means the speaker drivers by their very nature have to be very small. Small drivers can't do much to create sound waves.

The wiser salespeople will direct you towards a sound bar or other home audio system. This is definitely where you should spend a few dollars. Pretty much every sound bar will sound better than the TV speakers, and the better sound bars actually sound pretty good.

Check out CNET's page on the best home audio and best sound bars.

'TVs break all the time. You need an extended warranty.'
Another example of this is "I see TVs come in for repair all the time." From a rhetorical standpoint, this is a rather brilliant argument. This person works at the store. They see lots of TVs coming in for repair. So as an "authority," this seems a valid point.

Except, it isn't.

What the salesperson isn't seeing, is all the TVs that don't come in for repair. Which is most of them. Flat-panel TVs are very reliable, so an extended warranty is a largely a waste of money.

'LED TVs have the best picture quality.'
Nope. First of all, there's no such thing as an "LED TV." Every
LED TV is just a standard LCD TV that uses LEDs to create light instead of the "old-fashioned" cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). LCDs have their positives, like light output and lower energy consumption, but when it comes to a direct picture quality comparison, plasmas have better black levels, better contrast ratios, and better viewing angles (for those not sitting directly in front of the TV). For example, four of the five TVs CNET picked for best picture quality are plasmas (the one LED LCD is also the most expensive TV you can buy per-screen-inch).

There's more to it than that, as I lay out in "Why LED does not mean a better picture" and "LED LCD vs. plasma vs. LCD."

'If you want the best picture and sound, you need the best HDMI cable.'
This is the one that annoys me the most, and I've written four articles about it for CNET alone. This is the one that eliminates any guilt I have impugning the good name of some hard-working salespeople. There is no picture or sound quality difference between any HDMI cable. None. At all. So if you spend $3 or $300, the image and sound will be 100 percent exactly the same.

I could talk about this forever, and indeed I have. Check out "Why all HDMI cables are the same,"
"Why all HDMI cables are the same, Part 2,"
"Still more reasons why all HDMI cable are the same," and the "HDMI cable buying guide."

Bottom line

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it! -- Upton Sinclair

But look, be polite. Don't waste someone's time. This goes for both sides. They're just trying to make a living, you're just trying to keep as much of your living as possible. When I sold electronics at Circuit City, I was given all sorts of information, presented as truth, to tell customers. Much of which I know now to be false, or at least "truth adjacent." But as an 18-year-old, long haired (yep, believe it), wannabe guitar god, I didn't know any better. So give the poor guy or gal the benefit of the doubt that they're not knowingly lying to you.

Except for that HDMI cable stuff; man that bugs me.

How about you? Been told any doozys?

---

Got a question for Geoff? Send him an e-mail! If it's witty, amusing, and/or a good question, you may just see it in a post just like this one. No, he won't tell you which TV to buy. Yes, he'll probably truncate and/or clean up your e-mail. You can also send him a message on Twitter: @TechWriterGeoff.

Read More..

Boehner and Obama meet on "fiscal cliff"

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, met at the White House Sunday for their first face-to-face meeting on the "fiscal cliff" in weeks, indicating that negotiations are continuing despite a public stalemate over the requirements for a deal.

The two have spoken over the phone as recently as Wednesday but on Friday, Boehner held a news conference to announce that "no progress" had been made.

While details of today's discussion weren't disclosed both Mr. Obama's and Boehner's spokesmen released the same exact statement to reporters, revealing some coordination - even if it's just how to talk to the press.

"This afternoon, the President and Speaker Boehner met at the White House to discuss efforts to resolve the fiscal cliff. We're not reading out details of the conversation, but the lines of communication remain open," Boehner spokesma Brendan Buck and White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest separately emailed.

The "fiscal cliff" is a series of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that are set to go into affect at the beginning of the year unless Congress passes an alternative proposal. Most economists say the jolt to the economy would harm any recovery, and could throw the country back into recession.

Both sides have laid out their demands. Republicans are adamant that spending be greatly reduced, especially for entitlements. Democrats, however, are demanding that tax rates increase for the wealthy, something that some Republicans, including Boehner, have indicated is up for discussion.

Read More..

Fiscal Cliff Talks: Boehner, Obama Meet Face-to-Face

For the first time in more than three weeks, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met face-to-face today at the White House to talk about avoiding the fiscal cliff.

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest would offer no details saying only, "The lines of communication remain open."

Erskine Bowles, the co-creator of a debt reducing plan, who was pessimistic a couple weeks ago, said he likes what he's hearing.

"Any time you have two guys in there tangoing, you have a chance to get it done," Bowles said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

The White House afternoon talks, conducted without cameras or any announcement until they were over, came as some Republicans were showing more flexibility about approving higher tax rates for the wealthy, one of the president's demands to keep the country from the so-called fiscal cliff -- a mixture of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that many economists say would send the country back into recession.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

Fiscal Cliff Battle: President Obama vs. Speaker John Boehner Watch Video

"Let's face it. He does have the upper hand on taxes. You have to pass something to keep it from happening," Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said on "FOX News Sunday."

This comes after the White House moderated one of its demands about tax rate increases for the wealthy.

The administration was demanding the rate return to its former level of 39.6 percent on income above $250,000. The so-called Bush tax cut set that rate at 35 percent. But Friday, Vice President Joe Biden signaled that rate could be negotiable, somewhere between the two.

"So will I accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? Yes," said Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn on ABC's "This Week."

The problems the senator was referring to are the country's entitlement programs. And there was some progress on that front, too.

A leading Democrat said means testing for Medicare recipients could be a way to cut costs to the government health insurance program. Those who make more money would be required to pay more for Medicare.

"I do believe there should be means testing, and those of us with higher income and retirement should pay more. That could be part of the solution," Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

But Durbin said he would not favor raising the eligibility age from 65 years old to 67 years old, as many Republicans have suggested.

The White House and the speaker's office released the exact same statement about the negotiating session. Some will see that as a sign of progress, that neither side is talking about what was said behind closed doors.

Read More..

Analysis: Franco-German chill reshuffles cards in Europe

PARIS (Reuters) - A chill has settled over the Rhine seven months after the election of Socialist French President Francois Hollande, reshuffling the cards in Europe's perpetual power game.

The cooling of traditionally close Franco-German relations was partly an intentional step by Hollande to demonstrate that he is not in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's pocket but wants to change the policy direction of the European Union.

It also reflects a fraught process of rebalancing power to accommodate Germany's greater political heft and economic clout.

Despite vows of ever closer cooperation that are sure to mark the 50th anniversary next month of the treaty that sealed post-war Franco-German reconciliation, tension is likely to simmer at least until next September's German general election.

Hollande was keen to distance himself from his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy's exclusive alliance with the German leader, which became known as "Merkozy" because of the dominant role they played in steering the euro zone debt crisis.

Hollande and Merkel have differed publicly over the right mix between austerity and growth policies, the future of the euro area, a European banking union, and industrial policy.

A series of disputes over common euro zone bonds, the EU budget and the aerospace industry have exposed mutual distrust between German and French officials and business leaders, despite entrenched habits of cooperation.

"It's not an easy dialogue," said Bruno Le Roux, parliamentary floor leader of Hollande's Socialist Party. "It was on the wrong track for the last couple of years and the fact that France was in an electoral cycle for a year and now Germany is in an electoral cycle for a year doesn't help."

Le Roux, who is close to Hollande, said the president had set out to broaden the debate about changing the euro zone's course by including countries such as Italy and Spain that are closer to his approach of "integration with solidarity."

That had led Merkel to build bridges with non-euro Britain on issues such as the EU budget, at France's expense.

Whereas France and Germany cut a deal to preserve the level of agricultural subsidies - of which the French are the chief beneficiaries - in the last long-term EU budget, Berlin cold-shouldered approaches by Paris for a similar pact this time.

In last month's aborted negotiations on the 2014-20 budget, Merkel endorsed lower farm spending despite French pleas and backed British pressure for deeper cuts in total EU expenditure.

The chancellor has expressed public concern about the loss of competitiveness of Europe's second largest economy. Her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble last month asked a panel of economic advisers to consider reform proposals for France.

In private, senior German officials worry about Hollande's ability to secure support in his Socialist party for the bold shake-up of labor markets, welfare financing and public spending that experts say France needs after the anti-business rhetoric of his election campaign.

Berlin has watched aghast the national drama in France over efforts to save 630 jobs at steelmaker ArcelorMittal, featuring threats to nationalize an ageing steelworks shuttered due to chronic overcapacity in the sector.

In German eyes, the furor over Mittal's Florange plant epitomizes a lack of economic realism and a statist intervention reflex that run counter to Germany's business culture.

Berlin policymakers recognize that Hollande is making a gradual turn towards economic reform, but they have still to be convinced of his determination to stay the course if left-wing and trade union resistance mounts.

Franco-German tensions over power-sharing, industrial policy and the role of the state came to a head in the struggle over European aerospace leader EADS.

Berlin prevented a merger between the Airbus parent and Britain's BAE Systems last month, fearing Germany would be overruled by Franco-British defense interests. The Germans then demanded an equal shareholding with Paris' in EADS.

The result was a shake-up of the European planemaker in which the Berlin government paid more than $2 billion to buy a stake matching France's, only to see the role of state shareholders greatly reduced by new governance arrangements.

The Germans were "obsessed with parity because they are convinced the French want to take over the company, just as the French are convinced the Germans want to take it over," said a person involved in the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The age when Germany was willing to sign the cheques but let France take the lead in Europe - whether to atone for World War Two or to ease the way for German unification - is over.

EADS is a paradigm for wider difficulties in relations, both because of the mutual suspicion and because of Berlin's determination to assert its increased power in a venture in which the French previously had the upper hand.

Hollande argues that each step towards closer integration in the euro zone should be preceded by an increase in "solidarity" - code for Germany doing more to support weaker southern states.

In contrast, Merkel insists there must be greater central control of national budgetary and economic policies to ensure they respect EU rules before any sharing of liabilities.

The Frenchman advocates common euro zone bonds to help pay off those countries' accumulated debts. He also wants joint deposit insurance in which German depositors and taxpayers would underwrite shaky banks in other euro zone states.

Both ideas are anathema in Germany, at least this side of the election and probably for much longer.

Irked by Hollande's perceived attempts to isolate her, Merkel has reached out to other partners to strengthen her hand in European negotiations.

In an essay entitled "After Merkozy, how France and Germany can make Europe work" (*), Ulrike Guerot and Thomas Klau of the European Council on Foreign Relations recount how Berlin lines up support from the Dutch and Finns, fellow north European AAA-rated nations, before dealing with the French.

"We call the French only once we have established a common position among our group of like-minded countries," they quoted a German official involved in financial negotiations as saying.

"And we know that once we start speaking with the French, then the trouble starts."

* After Merkokzy, how France and Germany can make Europe work, policy brief, ECFR.

http://ecfr.eu/page/-/ECFR56_FRANCE_GERMANY_BRIEF_AW.pdf

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by James Jukwey)

Read More..

Field Hockey: Pakistan beat India for bronze

MELBOURNE: Pakistan won their first Champions Trophy medal since 2004, beating India 3-2 in the bronze medal play-off, depriving their arch-rivals of their first medal in more than 30 years.

Pakistani champion Shakeel Abbasi said the bronze was as good as winning gold.

"It was a very important match for us because for the past eight years we haven't won a medal at the Champions Trophy," Abbasi said.

"So for us this is a gold medal because after such a long time between winning medals, but also winning against India, for me and my team and for Pakistan this is a gold medal."

Pakistan beat India by the same score in the bronze medal showdown at Lahore eight years ago.

India began the stronger Sunday, drawing a penalty corner in the opening minutes as the ball came off the foot of a Pakistani defender.

The goal was converted by VR Raghunath and India had all the momentum.

However, Pakistan eventually worked their way back into the game, drawing level with a field goal from Muhammad Rizwan Senior on 21 minutes.

Pakistan continued to control the play after half-time, scoring twice more through Shafqat Rasool and Muhammad Ateeq to set up a commanding lead.

India continued to fight until the end, scoring a penalty corner goal through Rupinder Pal Singh as the final siren sounded.

Indian midfielder Yuvraj Walmiki said despite losing, his team would take a lot away from the tournament.

"Coming out from the London Olympics we finished 12th and now at the Champions Trophy, after the Olympics and World Cup, it is one of the top tournaments so finishing fourth is a good achievement," Walmiki said.

"But we are sad that unfortunately we couldn't get bronze."

Pakistan also had wins over Germany (2-1) and Belgium (2-0) in the tournament, while India defeated England (3-1), New Zealand (4-2) and Belgium (1-0).

- AFP/ir

Read More..

Did Twitter's founder reveal its would-be Instagram killer?

Photos tweeted today by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey may have been generated using the service's rumored photo filters.

(Credit:
Jack Dorsey)

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey may have dropped the first public proof that Twitter is getting ready to release its own photo filtering feature, a tool it hopes could help in its increasingly tense battle with Instagram.

A report published today by All Things D suggested that informed sources have said that Twitter plans to launch its photo filtering tool before year's end. A series of black-and-white photos tweeted by Dorsey today appear to have been created using Twitter's own photo hosting service, pic.twitter.com. That would mean that Dorsey, who has largely relinquished his operational role at Twitter, and who is the founder and CEO of mobile payments startup Square, may well have been using the rumored new tool.

As All Things D wrote:

Twitter is making a big push to release a series of photo filters to be used inside the official Twitter app before the end of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The goal is to release the camera filters in an application update in time for the holiday season, these sources say. The new version of the app is currently in testing, which may be why we're seeing Twitter chairman Jack Dorsey post so many black-and-white filtered photos of his Square employees (not to mention the wing of his plane at takeoff, posted just this Saturday morning).

The New York Times first reported the rumors of Twitter's photo-filtering initiative last month.

If the All Things D and New York Times reports are correct, it would be the latest salvo in the escalating war between Twitter and Instagram. Earlier this week, Instagram deactivated Twitter Card integration, a step that resulted in Instagram photos showing up poorly cropped in tweets. The goal, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said, was to get more of his company's users utilizing the service on the Web. But it was also clear Instagram wants to wean its users off of Twitter.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment this evening.

It appears that executives at Twitter are eager to push out major new features by year's end. In several speeches, CEO Dick Costolo has said that he is intent on making users' entire tweet histories available by the end of the year. And if the All Things D report is true, the company also wants its photo filtering tools in users' hands by New Year's. "Why push it out before the new year? Perhaps Twitter wants a cut of the inevitable jump in photos we'll see as everyone goes home for the holidays," All Things D wrote. "Instagram, for instance, saw more than 200 Thanksgiving-related photos posted to its service every second on Thanksgiving Day alone, and ten million Thanksgiving photos posted overall that day."

Read More..

Venezuela's Chavez says cancer back, plans surgery

CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Saturday night that his cancer has returned and that he will undergo another surgery in Cuba.

Chavez, who won re-election on Oct. 7, also said for the first time that if his health were to worsen, his successor would be Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

"We should guarantee the advance of the Bolivarian Revolution," Chavez said on television, seated at the presidential palace with Maduro and other aides.

The president said that tests had shown a return of some cancerous cells and that he would return to Cuba on Sunday for the surgery, his third operation to remove cancerous tissue in about a year and a half.

He called it a "new battle."

The 58-year-old president first underwent cancer surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and had another surgery last February after a tumor appeared in the same area. He has also undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Chavez made his most recent trip to Cuba on the night of Nov. 27, saying he would receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Such treatment is regularly used to help heal tissues damaged by radiation treatment.

Chavez said he has been coping with pain. He said that he was requesting permission from lawmakers to travel and that he hoped to have good news after the surgery.

Read More..

Gay Marriage: Will Justices Follow Popular Opinion?

The Supreme Court's announcement that it would hear two cases challenging laws prohibiting same-sex marriage has reinvigorated one of the most hotly contentious social debates in American history, a debate that has been fueled by a dramatic change in attitudes.

With some states taking significant steps towards legalizing gay marriage, the hearings come at a critical moment.

This week in Washington State, hundreds of same-sex couples lined up to collect marriage licenses after Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the passing of a voter-approved law legalizing gay marriage.

"For the past 20 years we've been saying just one more step. Just one more fight. Just one more law. But now we can stop saying 'Just one more.' This is it. We are here. We did it," Gregoire told a group of Referendum 74 supporters during the law's certification.

Washington is just the most recent of several states to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, signifying a significant departure from previous thinking on the controversial subject.

READ: Court to Take Up Same-Sex Marriage

A study by the Pew Research Center on changing attitudes on gay marriage showed that in 2001 57 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage, while 35 percent of Americans supported it.

The same poll shows that today opinions have greatly shifted to reflect slightly more support for same-sex marriage than opposition -- with 48 percent of Americans in favor and 43 percent opposed.

In fact, just two years ago, 48 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage while only 42 percent supported it -- indicating that opinions have changed dramatically in the last couple of years alone.

David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Supreme Court Set to Tackle Same-Sex Marriage Watch Video

Gay Marriage: Supreme Court to Examine Marriage Equality Watch Video

Marijuana, Gay Marriage Win in 2012 Election Results Watch Video

Check Out Same-Sex Marriage Status in the U.S. State By State

It's hard to imagine that only 16 years ago, the fervent gay marriage debate led to the conception of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union solely held between a man and a woman.

While debating the Defense of Marriage Act in September 1996, former Sen. Robert Byrd said: "If same-sex marriage is accepted, then the announcement will be official: America will have said that children do not need a mother and a father. Two mothers or two fathers will be OK. It'll be just as good. This would be a catastrophe."

Even a few short years ago a newly-elected President Obama did not support the legalization of gay marriage. It wasn't until earlier this year, at the end of hiss first term and with the impending election in sight, that the president told ABC's Robin Roberts the he'd "been going through an evolution on this issue."

Obama went on to attribute his shift in stance to the influence of his daughters.

"You know, Malia and Sasha, they've got friends whose parents are same-sex couples. It wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently," he said. "That's the kind of thing that prompts -- a change in perspective."

Obama isn't the only one to experience an evolution in thinking on the matter of gay marriage. Attitudes towards same-sex marriage have shifted dramatically over the past decade across the board, particularly in the past few years.

Gone are the days when a majority of people opposed same-sex marriage; the days when gay politicians and supporters of same-sex marriage could not get elected.

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

Today, nine states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex unions -- a number likely considered inconceivable just a few short years ago. And yet, the same-sex marriage debate still begs for the answering of a question: Will this newfound public opinion, largely driven by young people, women and Democrats, have an effect on the Supreme Court's ultimate decision on the matter?

"I think (gay marriage is) just not a big deal for a lot of young people," Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center says. "The justices are human beings so they're not completely immune to public opinion. ... I think the real question for them is going to be do they want to be on the wrong side of history?"

Read More..