US economy showing strength as spending cuts loom

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Even with automatic spending cuts looming, the outlook for the U.S. economy brightened a bit Tuesday after reports showed that Americans are more confident and are buying more new homes.

Home prices are also rising steadily, and banks are lending more. Such improvements suggest that the economy is resilient enough to withstand the deep government cuts that will kick in Friday.

That's especially encouraging because uncertainty over the federal budget could persist for months.

"The stars are lining up for stronger private sector growth this year," said Craig Alexander, chief economist at TD Bank.

Sales of new homes jumped nearly 16 percent in January to their highest level in 4? years, adding momentum to the housing recovery. Consumer confidence rose in February after three months of declines. And home prices increased in December from the same month in 2011 by the largest amount in more than six years.

The upbeat economic news contributed to a rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 100 points.

Consumers still face numerous burdens. Among them is a sharp increase in gas prices. The national average for a gallon, $3.78, has surged 44 cents in a month.

And Social Security taxes rose 2 percentage points beginning Jan. 1. This year, the increase will cost a typical household that earns $50,000 about $1,000. Income taxes for the highest-earning Americans also rose.

Both factors could reduce overall spending.

On Friday, about $85 billion in automatic spending cuts are to kick in, and there's little sign that the White House and Congress will reach a budget deal to avoid them. The cuts will cause furloughs and temporary layoffs of government workers and contractors and sharply reduce spending on defense and domestic programs.

For about 2 million long-term unemployed, benefits now averaging $300 a week could shrink by about $30. Payments that subsidize clean energy, school construction and state and local public works projects could be cut. Low-income Americans seeking heating or housing aid might face longer waits.

Overall, the tax increases and spending cuts could shave up to 1.2 percentage points from growth this year, economists estimate. Alexander estimates that without the spending cuts or tax increases, the economy would expand more than 3 percent this year. Instead, he predicts growth of only 2 percent.

But growth should accelerate later this year as the effects of the government cutbacks ease, he and other economists say. And several reports Tuesday suggest that the economy's underlying health is improving despite the prospect of lower government spending and further budget stalemates:

? The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 6.8 percent in December from a year earlier. That was the biggest year-over-year increase since July 2006. Rising home prices tend to make homeowners feel wealthier and encourage more spending. They also cause more people to buy before prices rise further. And banks are more likely to provide mortgages if they foresee higher home prices.

? Consumer confidence rose after three months of declines, according to the Conference Board, a business research group. Confidence had plunged in January after higher taxes cut most Americans' take-home pay. The rebound, though, suggests that some consumers have begun to adjust to smaller paychecks. The consumer confidence index rose to 69.6 in February from 58.4 in January. That's higher than last year's average of 67.1.

? Bank lending rose 1.7 percent in the October-December quarter, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. It was the sixth rise in seven quarters. Banks made more commercial and industrial loans to businesses and auto loans to consumers. More lending means the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping interest rates at record lows will benefit more people. Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated to Congress on Tuesday that the Fed's efforts are helping the economy and signaled that they will continue.

? Sales of new homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000, the Commerce Department said. That's the highest level since July 2008. The gain will likely encourage more construction. Higher sales are keeping the supply of new homes low, even as builders have tried to keep up. At the current sales pace, it would take only 4.1 months to exhaust the supply of new homes for sale. That's the lowest such figure in nearly eight years.

"Builders are not putting up homes fast enough to meet underlying demand," said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight.

New homes have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the National Association of Homebuilders.

Construction hiring has picked up in recent months. The industry has gained 98,000 jobs since September, its best stretch since the spring of 2006 ? before the housing bubble burst.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-economy-showing-strength-spending-cuts-loom-212049200--finance.html

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3-D atlas of the human heart drawn using statistics

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Researchers at Pompeu Fabra University (Spain) have created a high resolution atlas of the heart with 3D images taken from 138 people. The study demonstrates that an average image of an organ along with its variations can be obtained for the purposes of comparing individual cases and differentiating healthy forms from pathologies.

"This atlas is a statistical description of how the heart and its components -- such as the ventricles and the atrium -- look," as explained by Corn? Hoogendoorn, researcher at the CISTIB centre of the Pompeu Fabra University.

Scientists from this university have managed to create a representation of the average shape of the heart and its variations with images from 138 fully functioning hearts taken using multislice computed tomography. This technique offers three-dimensional and high resolution X-ray.

"In our analysis the population group included 138 people but it could be applied to much larger populations," comments Hoogendoorn. "We demonstrated the feasibility of constructing this type of atlas using many subjects, with an acceptable level of manual parameter tuning, while still providing good numeric results."

To create this cardiac map the researchers have developed a statistical model capable of managing high quantities of information provided by individual images. It can also collect temporary variations, given that the heart is never motionless.

The level of detail and the possibility to extend the atlas give it "an advantage over the majority of cardiac models present to date." This is the case according to the conclusions of the study, which was published in the 'IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging' journal.

The researchers believe that the study can be applied to medical image processing, especially when segmenting, or in other words, properly differentiating a structure to be analysed from the rest of the image.

"The statistics of the atlas offer a continuous range of exemplary heart shapes, which allows for the comparison of concrete cases as well as the calculation of probabilities of the latter belonging to the modelled population," says Hoogendoorn.

The scientist also outlines that the method can be applied to the images of any other organ or structure. It has the advantage of providing the ability to classify and diagnose healthy shapes and pathologies as well as to differentiate between different illnesses and even establish grading amongst each.

In addition, computational simulations of the heart electrophysiology and mechanics (as well as the mechanics of other organs) can be based on the atlas, which can help to better plan treatment for patients.

This study is one more of others of its kind that highlight the increasing importance of the statistics in biomedical sciences, a mathematic discipline. What is more, 2013 is the International Year of Statistics.

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Journal Reference:

1. C. Hoogendoorn, N. Duchateau, D. Sanchez-Quintana, T. Whitmarsh, F. M. Sukno, Mathieu De Craene, K. Lekadir, A. F. Frangi. A High-Resolution Atlas and Statistical Model of the Human Heart From Multislice CT. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 2013; 32 (1): 28 DOI: 10.1109/TMI.2012.2230015

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/_sj6NNJ-g6w/130226081010.htm

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Net providers begin warning of illegal downloads

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet users who illegally share music, movies or television shows online could soon receive warning notices from the nation's five major Internet service providers.

The Copyright Alert System, organized by the recording and film industry, is being activated this week to target consumers using peer-to-peer software.

Under the new system, complaints will prompt an Internet service provider ? such as Verizon or AT&T ? to notify a customer whose Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. A person will be given up to six opportunities to stop before the Internet provider will take more drastic steps, such as temporarily slowing their connection, or redirecting Internet traffic until they acknowledge they received a notice or review educational materials about copyright law.

Consumers who maintain they have been wrongly accused would be forced to pay $35 to appeal the decision. The fee would be reimbursed if they prevail.

Proponents say the focus is on deterring the average consumer rather than chronic violators. The director of the organization behind the system, Jill Lesser of the Center for Copyright Infringement, said in a blog post Monday that the program is "meant to educate rather than punish, and direct (users) to legal alternatives."

Each Internet provider is expected to implement their own system. The program gives each customer five or six "strikes" after a music or film company has detected illegal file-sharing and lodged a complaint. The first alerts are expected to be educational, while the third and fourth would require the customer to acknowledge that they have received the warnings and understand their behavior is illegal. The final warnings are expected to lead to "mitigation measures," such as slowing a person's Internet connection speeds.

Officials involved in the effort acknowledge it's unlikely to stop the biggest violators. There are ways to disguise an IP address or use a neighbor's connection that is unlocked. Public wireless connections, such as those offered at coffee shops, also won't be monitored.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-25-US-Internet-Piracy/id-dfd9db3796ee402ebdfbc72f96e26294

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Ecuador's Correa wins re-election: exit polls

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa easily won re-election in Sunday's presidential vote, according to two private exit polls, providing a timely boost for Latin America's alliance of socialist leaders.

Correa won 61 percent of the vote compared with 21 percent for former banker Guillermo Lasso, the strongest showing of the seven opposition candidates in the race, according to a survey by polling firm Opinion Publica.

A separate exit poll by the firm Cedatos showed Correa winning 59 percent of the vote versus 20 percent for Lasso.

The electoral authority was expected to release an official quick-count by 7:00 p.m. EST (0000 GMT) based on 30 percent of the votes cast.

Correa, a pugnacious U.S.-trained economist, wants to continue boosting the state's role in the OPEC nation's economy and strengthening the leftist ALBA bloc of Latin American nations that openly oppose the United States.

The only Ecuadorean president in the past 20 years to complete a full term in office, Correa is admired for bringing political stability to a nation where leaders had been frequently toppled by violent street protests or military coups.

Opposition leaders call Correa a dictator in the making who is quashing free speech through hostile confrontation with media and squelching free enterprise through heavy taxation and constant regulatory changes.

His success hinged in part on high oil prices that allowed for hefty government spending, including providing cash handouts to 2 million people, and spurred solid economic growth.

(Additional reporting by Jose Llangari and Eduardo Garcia in Quito and Yuri Garcia in Guayaquil; Editing by Kieran Murray and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-votes-president-correa-seen-winning-term-053015841.html

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Signs You Are Verbally Abused: Part I | Psych Central

Note: Issues of verbal control can exist in any relationship, heterosexual, gay or lesbian, male towards a female partner or the other way around. Since more is known about verbal abuse in relationships where a guy is controlling his female partner, this article will address those relationships. However, a simple change of gender in any of the names is all it takes to apply the principles to other pairs.

Verbal abuse takes many forms: from loud rants to quiet comments; from obvious put-downs to not-so-obvious remarks that undermine the partner. What all the methods have in common is the need to control, to be superior, to avoid taking personal responsibility, and to mask or deny failures.

The myth in Hank?s and Mary?s relationship is that he is much, much smarter than she is. She does admire him, but not as much as he admires himself. He trumps anything she says with a stronger, maybe louder opinion. He calls her ideas na?ve or ill-informed or even idiotic. Mary thinks he may be right. Since marrying Hank 3 years ago, her self-confidence has plummeted.

Jake, on the other hand, hides his need for control in his relationship with Marilyn under sarcasm, jokes and puns. ?Why,? he says, ?doesn?t Marilyn understand I?m just joking?? Why? Because she is the object of those sarcastic remarks, ?jokes? and puns. He both publicly and privately keeps her off-balance by joking about her insights, her goals, and the things she cares most about. She has come to question her judgment about her ideas and about him. Lots of people think he?s funny. Maybe, she thinks, he doesn?t mean it. Maybe, she tells herself, she needs to have a better sense of humor.

Frank can?t stand to be seen as responsible for any failure. When he makes a mistake, his mantra is ?I may be wrong but you are wrong-er.? If his wife says he has hurt her feelings, he claims not to remember having said what he said or having done what he did. He tells her she is ?too sensitive.? He whines about being a scapegoat for other people?s problems. He doesn?t seem to get that he is the perpetrator, not the victim.

Al isn?t subtle. His wife and kids never know what to expect when he comes home. Will loving, caring Al be at the door with treats for the kids and something nice for his wife? Or will the Al who flies into rages, who threatens them with physical abuse and swears and calls them names show up? The whole household walks on eggshells. Even when loving-Al is around, things can change in an instant if he is the least bit frustrated. Last week when his 5-year-old spilled milk at the dinner table, he yelled at her for an hour. When his wife tried to intervene, he backhanded her. Everyone got real quiet. Then ? the storm blew over and Al left for the rest of the evening.

If you recognize yourself in any of the above scenarios, you are being verbally abused. Make no mistake: Although verbal abuse doesn?t leave visible scars, it does do damage. The victims? self-esteem is eroded. Children who watch one parent being put down and diminished by the other develop a skewed and sad view of how relationships are supposed to be.

6 Signs You Are Being Verbally Abused

1. Like Mary, you feel you just can?t win. No matter how carefully or kindly you try to work out a problem, your partner says things that make you feel like you?re in the wrong.
2. Your self-esteem and self-confidence are shot. Your partner isn?t your greatest fan but your greatest critic. He often tells you that his comments are ?for your own good.?
3. When you say he has hurt your feelings your partner, like Frank in the scene above, tells you that you are too sensitive. When you point out that he has said something inappropriate or hurtful, he accuses you of trying to make him look bad. You notice that he rarely takes responsibility for his part of a problem. Somehow he manages to convince himself and even you that anything that goes wrong is your fault.
4. You often are the brunt of jokes that make you feel bad. The guy who is fun and fun-loving outside the family unleashes a more vicious or undermining humor inside. Other people don?t believe you that the guy they know is so different from what you experience. Like Marilyn, you find yourself constantly questioning yourself.
5. You have to walk on eggshells at home. Your home isn?t a sanctuary for you and your kids. It is the place where you are most afraid and embarrassed. You and the kids stay away as much as you can. When you are there with your partner, you all do everything you can to make sure nothing happens that could set him off.
6. If you?re not very careful, the verbal abuse escalates to physical altercations. Even if you are very careful, what starts with words can end up with physical aggression toward you or destroying things, especially things you value.

Whoever made up that rhyme about ?sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me? was just plain wrong! Words do hurt. They can break a person on the inside just as surely as a whack with a stick bruises the outside. People who are subjected to verbal abuse suffer. People who are subjected to it over time can get so used to it that they lose their sense of themselves as people worth loving. If you see yourself in any of these stories, know you are not alone. There are things you can do. Part II of this article will discuss them.

?

Dr. Marie Hartwell-Walker is licensed as both a psychologist and marriage and family counselor. She specializes in couples and family therapy and parent education. She writes regularly for Psych Central as well as Psych Central's Ask the Therapist feature, and has published the insightful parenting e-book, Tending the Family Heart.

APA Reference
Hartwell-Walker, M. (2013). Signs You Are Verbally Abused: Part I. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 17, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2013/signs-you-are-verbally-abused-part-i/

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 15 Feb 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2013/signs-you-are-verbally-abused-part-i/

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Hudson?s way: Duncan chef takes to national airwaves in Top Chef Canada Competition

It was now or never for Duncan chef Daniel Hudson.

Hudson, 29, just returned from Toronto from filming in the Top Chef Canada competition.

And although he?s been instructed to keep his lips sealed on the outcome of the show, which airs March 18, he?s pumped to tell folks in his community about the experience.

?I had been wanting to do it for awhile,? he explained of the competition that sees the winner take home a grand prize of $100,000, a G.E. Monogram kitchen worth $30,000 and Ceasarstone Quartz kitchen surfaces valued at $25,000.

Fellow chef and mentor, Vancouver?s Dale MacKay, who took the Top Chef title in the show?s first season, put a good word in for Hudson.

Hudson, the owner of Hudson?s On First, had planned to participate in the second season, but had to make a trip back to his home-town in England after his mother died.

When applications for the third season were called, he didn?t think twice about throwing his name in the hat.

?I filled out the application, submitted a video and then I did a telephone interview. They picked me to go to Vancouver where I did a cook-off at the institute and then I waited for about two to three weeks,? he explained.

Hudson was ?over the moon? when he got the call to be part of the show.

?It?s pretty surreal to be on TV and to be around all those celebrities and chefs,? he said.

He was one of 16 chefs chosen across Canada to battle it out in the show?s cook-off challenges in front of head judge Mark McEwan, resident judge Shereen Arazm, series host Lisa Ray and a smorgasbord of special guests.

Those guests include WWE female champion Trish Stratus, comedian Russell Peters, Survivorman host Les Stroud, the ladies of The Real Housewives of Vancouver, Juno-winning singer-songwriter Jann Arden, Top Chef: Las Vegas winner Michael Voltaggio, Restaurant: Impossible host Robert Irvine, Chuck?s Week Off chef Chuck Hughes and chef David Rocco.

?It was very big brother-ish, with cameras all the time and celebrities there,? he said. ?But it just became part of the daily routine.?

Hudson and his competitors participated in challenges designed to showcase their skills as chefs while impressing with original recipes.

?The comments, the good and bad, you take them on board and my ethic is you got to use them to your advantage,? Hudson explained.

The experience will surely find its place in his day-to-day routine running his own restaurant.

?I wouldn?t have changed anything if I could,? he said.

And business at Hudson?s, Duncan?s newest French cuisine fine-dining, is booming.

?It?s been smoking busy, even before the show,? Hudson said of the restaurant which opened in November and is located on Duncan?s First Street.

Hudson began his cooking career 12 years ago in one of the U.K.?s finest country manor houses, Eastwell Manor.

He trained solely from on-the-job experience, learning and gathering information from head chefs over the years.

He also recently wrapped up a two-year stint with Hilary?s Cheese in Cowichan Bay as an artisan cheese-maker.

Top Chef Canada premieres March 18 at 10 p.m. on the Food Network Canada.

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Source: http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/news/191062711.html

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Edward Furlong: JAILED For Violating Restraining Order

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/edward-furlong-jailed-for-violating-restraining-order/

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford reacts to Coun. Mammoliti's loans

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he would not pass judgment on loans city Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti received from a pair of Toronto real estate investors until he speaks with him ? but says he would not have taken such loans himself.

The mayor's comments come after a CBC News investigation first revealed that Mammoliti received at least $275,000 in mortgage loans from a pair of real estate investors who owned billboards along Highway 401.

When Ford was asked Friday whether he would have done the same thing, he said: "Ridiculous."

"I don't work that way," he told reporters. "You guys know that."

Earlier Friday, Mammoliti issued a statement saying the loans were "of a personal business matter" involving his ex-wife.

He claimed the billboard applications were in relation to upgrades to "already existing signs which were in need of repair and would contribute to the revitalization of my community of which I remain greatly focused on."

Mammoliti's sworn financial statements, submitted to court, indicate that he was a 50 per cent shareholder of two companies that received the mortgage loans. (CBC)

However, minutes from meetings of his community council show that of those five sign applications Mammoliti backed between 2004 and 2009, three were for entirely new billboards. The other two were to upgrade existing poster billboards into "tri-vision" types where the image rotates between three advertisements.

The businessman who brought the first two billboard applications, in 2004 and 2006, later loaned Mammoliti $200,000 in late 2007. A second businessman who brought the other three applications, in 2009, had loaned Mammoliti $75,000 by mid-2011, court and property records show.

Mammoliti also claimed Friday that the loans involved "a company owned and operated by my now ex-wife."

In fact, the loans were granted to two companies, according to property records: Aribella Property Management and 1195407 Ontario Inc. Mammoliti's sworn financial statements submitted to court in October list him as a 50 per cent shareholder in both corporations.

Loans from individuals to councillors are not prohibited by the conduct rules or laws governing Toronto politicians, and whether they must be disclosed is a grey area, according to experts in the field.

'Optics aren't right,' Holyday says

When the billboards in question came up for debate at the Etobicoke York community council in 2009, Coun. Doug Holyday, now Toronto's deputy mayor, wanted more information about the applications and said he would ask the city's integrity commissioner to look into the matter.

At the time, the commissioner said it was not an integrity matter, Holyday told CBC News on Friday.

"The integrity commissioner told me that councillors were elected to make decisions. And some you like, and some you don't like. So it's not an integrity matter if you think they've made a dumb choice," he said.

Holyday said he did not plan to go to the integrity commissioner regarding Mammoliti's loans, but he said the "optics aren't right."

"I would personally not seek loans from anybody we're doing business with here at the city," he said. "And maybe there's nothing wrong with it, but I guess, it just doesn't look as good as it could."

But Coun. Adam Vaughan said he didn't think the loans were appropriate, under his interpretation of the city's Code of Conduct.

He said he hasn't filed a formal complaint, but it is "something the integrity commissioner will have to take a look at."

Mammoliti should also "make a full disclosure of his financial dealings with people who have had applications in front of the city," Vaughan added.

"When it's a private relationship like this with public business on the line, if it's not a clear conflict of interest, it's certainly an apparent conflict of interest," he said. "And it should be avoided."

Mammoliti was critical in his statement of CBC and the Toronto Star, which published a story about the loans in its Friday edition.

"To blatantly issue a story that has no relevance to my job and involves my family and personal relationships I find to be in very poor taste," the statement reads.

Mammoliti did not respond to interview requests made by the CBC prior to airing the story.

Mammoliti's complete statement

The complete text of Coun. Mammoliti's statement issued Friday is here:

"I have supported hundreds of first and third party signs throughout my career both in my community and throughout the City of Toronto and will continue to do so.

The sign applications the CBC and Toronto Star refer to were for upgrading already existing signs, which were in need of repair and would contribute to the revitalization of my community of which I remain greatly focused on.

The CBC and Toronto Star have reported that there was clearly no conflict in my dealings on this matter as a Councillor. The loans issued were of a personal business matter involving a company owned and operated by my now ex-wife and the repayment of such loans have been dealt with as part of our divorce, which is still ongoing.

To the best of my knowledge the Tradesea International loan has been paid out in full with interest. While I accept challenges about my decision making as a Councillor, to blatantly issue a story that has no relevance to my job and involves my family and personal relationships I find to be in very poor taste. I respectfully request to leave my personal dealings and my family out of the media."

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/02/15/toronto-mammoliti-statement.html?cmp=rss

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Van Zyl leads Africa Open

Gallo Images

Jaco van Zyl defied winds that reached 30 kilometres an hour to take a two-stroke clubhouse lead in the first round of the Africa Open. Photo by Luke Walker

East London ? South African Jaco van Zyl defied winds that reached 30 kilometres an hour and temporarily halted play to take a two-stroke clubhouse lead Thursday in the first round of the Africa Open.

Seeking his first European Tour victory, 33-year-old Pretoria-born Van Zyl carded halves of 35 and 31 on the tight par-72, 6066-metre course overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Englishman John Parry shot a 68 for second place with his round including seven birdies and three bogeys.

South African Oliver Bekker occupied third place a shot further back after six birdies, one bogey and one double bogey.

A group on 70 included Bjorn Akesson of Sweden, Gregory Bourdy of France, Andy Sullivan of England and South Africans Daniel Greene and Tjaart van der Walt.

Play was suspended for almost three hours when the wind started moving balls on the greens of more exposed holes -- particularly the third -- before conditions improved later on the opening day of the one-million-euro event.

Van Zyl, who has had 12 top-10 European Tour finishes, began his round at the ninth hole and after the interruption, drove the fifth and sixth to claim two-putt birdies and move into the lead.

?I am hitting the ball nicely this week. I was battling a bit with my swing at the Joburg Open last week and it is nice that I carried the short game over,? Van Zyl told reporters.

?It was really tough. A couple of hours before they called us off, and right up until the time they did, it was blowing. When we got to the top of the hill on the fifth I could almost not stand up straight.

?There is talk of rain during the weekend, which will make the course play a little bit longer. Hopefully the wind can die down a little bit -- it is pretty much the only defence this course has.?

European Tour winners who battled included South African Thomas Aiken (74), Englishman Robert Rock (75) and Indian Shiv Chowrasia (78) while the 81 posted by South African Pieter Moolman included a 10 at the par-five third.? AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/van-zyl-leads-africa-open-1.1470627

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AU's new Recreation and Wellness Center will feature a 50-foot rock ...

Well, Well, Wellness Center: New student facility could be the best of its kind in the country.

When it?s finished, Auburn should start letting couples reserve the new Student Recreation and Wellness Center for honeymoons or vacations or whatever like they let them reserve Samford Lawn for weddings and Auburn Arena for receptions. Because apparently it?s basically an amusement park.

According to the Plainsman, the facility will feature ?a 50-foot rock climbing wall with an auto-belaying system, four bordering caves for lateral climbing, a a 20-foot wet rock climbing wall in the 20,000 gallon leisure activity pool, a 45-person hot tub in the shape of a tiger paw and a third of a mile indoor track with a corkscrew formation and 10 feet of altitude.?

According to Adam Sardinha, Auburn?s Assistant Director of Marketing for Campus Recreation, that third of a mile indoor track will be the longest indoor track in the country.

And we haven?t even talked about the five-story fitness tower. The whole thing should be open for business this spring. You can read more about it here.

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Keep Reading:

* That time a cow won Miss Auburn
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Source: http://www.thewareaglereader.com/2013/02/aus-new-recreation-and-wellness-center-will-feature-a-50-foot-rock-wall-giant-tiger-paw-shaped-hot-tub-largest-indoor-track-in-u-s/

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We're emotionally distant and that's just fine by me: Closer relationships aren't necessarily better relationships

Feb. 13, 2013 ? When it comes to having a lasting and fulfilling relationship, common wisdom says that feeling close to your romantic partner is paramount. But a new study finds that it's not how close you feel that matters most, it's whether you are as close as you want to be, even if that's really not close at all.

"Our study found that people who yearn for a more intimate partnership and people who crave more distance are equally at risk for having a problematic relationship," says the study's lead author, David M. Frost, PhD, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "If you want to experience your relationship as healthy and rewarding, it's important that you find a way to attain your idealized level of closeness with your partner."

Results will be published in the April issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and will also appear ahead of print online on February 13.

A sample of 732 men and women, living across the U.S. and Canada, completed three yearly surveys online. They answered questions about relationship closeness, relationship satisfaction, commitment, break-up thoughts, and symptoms of depression. Current and ideal closeness were assessed by choosing from six sets of overlapping circles; varying degrees of overlap signified degrees of closeness. This well-established psychological measure of closeness is known as Inclusion of Other in Self and indicates a couple's "we-ness" or shared identity, values, viewpoints, resources, and personality traits.

More than half of respondents (57%) reported feeling too much distance between themselves and their partner; 37% were content with the level of closeness in their relationship; and a small minority (5%) reported feeling too close. The degree of difference between a respondent's actual and ideal -- their "closeness discrepancy" -- correlated with poorer relationship quality and more frequent symptoms of depression. The effect was the same whether the respondent reported feeling "too close for comfort" or "not close enough." Surprisingly, the negative effects of closeness discrepancies were evident regardless of how close people felt to their partners; what mattered was the discrepancy, not the closeness.

Over the two-year study period, some respondents' experiences of closeness became aligned with their ideals. In such cases, their relationship quality and mental health improved. The inverse was also true. Those who increasingly felt "too close" or "not close enough" over time were more likely to grow unhappy in their relationships and ultimately break up with their partners.

Closeness discrepancies could shape new approaches to psychotherapy, both for couples and individuals, because it takes seriously real differences in the amount of closeness people want in their relationships, says Dr. Frost, a psychologist and professor of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School.

"It's best not to make too many assumptions about what constitutes a healthy relationship," he says. "Rather, we need to hear from people about how close they are in their relationships and how that compares to how close they'd ideally like to be."

Ongoing studies are looking at the issue of closeness discrepancies from both sides of a relationship to see how someone's sense of relationship closeness might differ from their partners, whether someone's closeness discrepancy affects their partners, and how it affects their sex life. The concept could also be extended to non-romantic relationships such as co-workers, parent-child, and patient-provider interactions.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/depression/~3/-grqXXK5HiE/130213105011.htm

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Let Yourself Splurge a Little for Hitting Savings Goals

Saving money requires a lot of discipline and delayed gratification. However, as the folks at finance blog Wise Bread have written, it's important to make sure that gratification does come.

If you've recently implemented a savings plan in order to be more responsible with your finances, then rewarding yourself for sticking to it isn't a bad idea.

When you are already cutting down debt and meeting your savings goals, you should give yourself some positive reinforcement. Being responsible with your money should be fun, too. When you let yourself have that massage or video game you wanted, you may become even more motivated to earn and save more. If saving money becomes hard labor for you, then you are probably less happy than you might otherwise be, but that does not have to be how you live.

However, don't neglect your debts. If you owe a reasonable amount of money, paying it off and being debt-free is a far more rewarding course of action in the long run.

And if you do splurge, it doesn't have to be wasteful. Some splurges have long term benefits?like higher quality shoes that will outlast a few pairs of cheaper ones. Plus, it breaks up your routine and keeps life interesting. Hit the link for more.

Why You Should Allow Yourself Splurges | Wise Bread

Photo by 401(K) 2013 .

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/tuiHen5NPH4/let-yourself-splurge-a-little-for-hitting-savings-goals

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Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: 'We won't give up on our city'

Detroit ? Mayor Dave Bing in his State of the City speech on Wednesday reiterated the city is facing a financial emergency, but insisted his administration has made progress in fixing its cash flow crisis.

The mayor did not directly address the looming threat of an emergency financial manager, other than to say the city has avoided one so far and will continue to work urgently to stave off insolvency. He outlined the steps the city has taken to restructure itself in the face of a shrinking population and dwindling tax base.

"Despite the naysayers' predictions, there have not been any payless paydays," Bing said. "No emergency manager to date. And no declaration of bankruptcy for the City of Detroit."

Bing painted a picture of hope for the state's largest city and told a few hundred people at the Detroit School of Arts that he's not giving up just yet. A packed house is expected for the 30-minute speech inside the auditorium of the High School for the Arts in midtown.

"Despite our much-publicized financial issues, there is progress to report in Detroit," Bing said. "The picture is not all 'gloom and doom'. Every day there are more signs of hope and possibilities.

"Like many Detroiters, I too am a fighter," he said. "We can't - and won't give up on our city."

Pressure is continuing to mount on city leaders to work through an ongoing cash crisis. The city, which is under a consent agreement, is working to reshape its finances and operations to avoid insolvency. Officials said this week a review team that's looking into the city's issues is set to finish this weekend

Detroit is facing an estimated accumulated deficit of nearly $326 million. It borrowed $137 million that is now being used to cover city expenses late last year.

In his speech, Bing said the city's financial woes stem in part from a reduction in state revenue-sharing over the past decade. He pointed to ways the city is seeking to generate savings and address its revenue shortfall, including:

Reducing city spending from $1.4 billion from fiscal year 2009 to a projected $1.1 billion for fiscal 2013.

Reducing the city workforce from 13,420 to 9,696, and cutting payroll and benefit costs.

Outsourcing three city departments to outside organizations.

To increase operating efficiency, the city also has created a public lighting authority to address lighting problems, improved public transportation and outsourced payroll and benefits functions, he said.

The first-term mayor also touted his vision for Detroit's future. The Detroit Strategic Framework, the city's 50-year vision for the future, was unveiled in December.

The plan, which received $150 million from the Kresge Foundation, seeks to regenerate and transform the city through economic development, neighborhood reinvestment and infrastructure improvements. The goal is to help spur Detroit back to a level of national prominence over a period of five decades.

The plan envisions stable, revitalized neighborhoods in which vacant land is put to creative use and residents have incentives to move to more populated areas. For decades, Detroit has been plagued by population losses, largely driven by concerns about crime.

"The blueprint for the city will live for years to come," Bing said.

Still, Bing said the city cannot turn itself around without doing something about escalating crime. The city is in the midst of a massive restructuring of the department, which includes the elimination of several units. They include the violent crimes task force, tactical mobile unit and crime scene analysis unit.

Officers are to be redeployed to street patrols to bolster the force, whose uniformed ranks have decreased to 2,000 from about 3,000 in 2000. Last year, Detroit suffered through one of the most violent years in recent memory. Homicides increased 12 percent in 2012 to 386. That's a rate of 54.1 homicides per 100,000 residents. Data shows 88 percent of the homicides were committed in residential areas.

"We are all fighting the same battle - trying to reduce crime throughout our city," Bing said. "As I have said repeatedly, the fight against crime must involve everyone. Our elected officials. Our churches. Our schools. Our community groups. Our businesses. We all have a role and stake in the outcome."

Bing also announced a partnership with Pulte Homes to create a private non-profit group called the Detroit Blight Authority, which will work with community stakeholders such as the Kresge Foundation and DTE Energy to fight neighborhood blight. The authority's pilot project, which was first reported by The Detroit News last week, includes demolition of a 10-block area on Detroit's east side near Eastern Market.

Bing said he plans to reach his goal of tearing down 10,000 abandoned structures this year. The city has knocked down nearly 6,700 vacant structures throughout Detroit to date, he said.

"While we can proudly point to all of these successes, my job is not done," Bing said.

dnichols@detnews.com

(313) 222-2072

Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130213/METRO01/302130373/1408/LOCAL

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Tycoons Slim, Gates open Mexico agricultural research center

TEXCOCO (Reuters) - Carlos Slim and Bill Gates, the two richest men on the planet, inaugurated a new agricultural research center outside Mexico's capital, touting the millions they have donated to bolster global food security.

The two tycoons participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new laboratories at the headquarters of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT.

The new complex will double the center's capacity to develop better seeds and more productive farmers in the developing world, officials said.

"These laboratories will help attract the best talent in the world to come and work here," said Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Slim's charitable foundation donated $25 million to build the new complex, while the Gates foundation has given more than $90 million for ongoing CIMMYT projects, including an $18 million grant also announced Wednesday to help boost small-farm yields in South Asia.

"We have climate change but we also have significant volatility in raw materials, and that makes improved efficiency and farm productivity indispensable," said Slim, who controls a business empire that includes Latin America's biggest telecommunications company, America Movil.

Mexico's agriculture minister, Enrique Martinez, told the assembled dignitaries that new advances in seeds developed by CIMMYT will help Mexico lessen its reliance on imported grains, especially corn.

Mexico currently imports about a third of the corn it needs each year.

More than two years ago, Mexico's government began pumping resources into CIMMYT's sustainable agriculture program known as MasAgro - $49 million since 2011, and another $138 million pledged over the next decade, according to data from the agriculture ministry.

The government says MasAgro, which has won plaudits from the G-20, boosts farmer profits by a third and yields by half.

Slim and Gates are worth a combined $130 billion according to the ranking maintained by Forbes magazine.

(Additional reporting by Armando Tovar; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tycoons-slim-gates-open-mexico-agricultural-research-center-025204575--finance.html

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NFL News: Steelers? James Harrison Won?t Take Pay Cut

The 2012 NFL season ended in disappointment for the Pittsburgh Steelers after the team failed to capitalize on an opportunity to get back into the race for the AFC North division title around midseason.

The Steelers dealt with multiple injury problems to some of the team?s best players on both sides of the football throughout the season. With Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu all missing time, Pittsburgh simply couldn?t turn things around .

All the injuries turned out to be too much to recover from for the Steelers and ultimately ended the season for the AFC heavyweight with the Steelers missing the NFL playoffs.

Heading into the off-season, the Steelers have a few decisions to make a few of the team?s important players. Wide receiver Mike Wallace is set to hit free agency in March and linebacker James Harrison will not be willing to take a pay cut if asked according to John Harris of Triblive.com:

Steelers?linebacker James Harrison is willing to restructure his contract. Smart man.

Harrison won?t take a pay cut, however, and that stubborn streak could make him an ex-Steeler.

Harrison is scheduled to earn $6.57 million in 2013 and $7.57 million in ?14. That?s a big salary-cap number for a pass-rusher who turns 35 in May, is coming off knee surgery a year ago and is two years removed from two back surgeries.

The veteran linebacker had a breakout season in 2008 winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, recording a career-high 16.0 sacks and made history by picking off Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals for a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Since the win over the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, Harrison hasn?t been able to put up comparable numbers for the Steelers. Harrison?s numbers have declined gradually over the past four seasons with the veteran riddled by back and knee injuries.

Despite the injuries, Harrison is still one of the best linebackers in the league and will be a loss for the Steelers if the two sides decide to part ways with Harrison?s reluctance to take a pay cut.

Source: http://www.sportscity.com/nfl-news-steelers-james-harrison-wont-take-pay-cut/2013/02/13/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nfl-news-steelers-james-harrison-wont-take-pay-cut

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Facebook hires Pixar illustrator to re-invent the emoticon

iheartchaos:

The emoticon has been around in some form since the early days of the world wide web, and there?s no shortage of emoticons out there. For the web and for mobile phones, there are thousands of emoticon apps to use in your everyday chatting. But Facebook thinks they, along with Pixar illustrator Matt Jones and a little bit of Charles Darwin, think they can take emoticons to the next level.

Read More

(via popculturebrain)

Source: http://finalbossform.com/post/43050854526

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Obama travels to NC to rally support for jobs plan

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is kicking off three days of travel to rally support for the job-creation and economic proposals he unveiled in his State of the Union address.

Obama will launch the effort Wednesday in Asheville, N.C., with a visit to Linamar Corp., a supplier of engine and transmission components that has expanded its manufacturing operations. He'll make stops in Atlanta on Thursday and Chicago on Friday.

In his speech before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, Obama called job creation his "North Star." He asked Congress to focus on attracting jobs to the U.S., training American workers and boosting investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy.

Obama also says he wants to raise the minimum hourly wage from the current $7.25 to $9 by the end of 2015.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-13-Obama/id-7621b8c3de7240d68f874999a011ae5d

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Bullies At CAIR Try To Shut Down Feb 20 N. VA GOP Women's Group Talk On Sharia & Hijab

Fairfax County (Virginia)?School Superintendent Jack Dale deserves a round of applause for refusing to cave in to the bullying demands of the Hamas-linked Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The superintendent came under fire for renting space at Fairview Elementary School in the Clifton, VA area to the Republican Women of Clifton, who will have a speaker at their meeting next week discussing Sharia law and the hijab.

The Washington ComPost posted a very biased article on Feb. 8 that reads more like a CAIR press release instead of a straight news article in a national newspaper.

The notice in the Fairfax Station Patch on Tuesday was brief, but to Laurie Jaghlit it felt like a punch in the gut.

At the next meeting of Republican Women of Clifton, a guest speaker would discuss ?the treatment of women in Islamic society and how she believes the Hijab is a catalyst for Islamic terrorism.? The Feb. 20 meeting would take place at Fairview Elementary School, five miles from Jaghlit?s house.

Jaghlit, a 52-year-old grandmother who raised nine children in Fairfax Station and Herndon, wears the hijab, or Islamic head covering. She had heard about talks like this in other parts of the country but had never confronted the issue so close to home.

?If that?s not hateful and inciteful speech, I don?t know what is,? she said. ?This is a diverse area. You?d think that hopefully we?d be beyond this."

The ComPost followed up with CAIR spokesmouth Ibrihim Hooper throwing out the usual Islamphobia and bigotry card that is used to bully anyone who dares question radical Islamists and Sharia law.?As a typical?example of CAIR/Hooper's bullying, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester MA cancelled a talk by Robert Spencer, director of JihadWatch.? It is only near the end of the article that Jaghlit, mentioned in the lede of the ComPost piece,?"works part-time for CAIR" and "she and half a dozen other Muslim women who wear the hijab plan to attend the meeting to 'have our non-terrorist voices heard.'"

The only response the ComPost allowed for the GOP Women's club was an e-mail response from Club President Alice Butler-Short, of which they took only a very?brief excerpt.

Of course, no where does the ComPost note how the FBI has linked CAIR to Hamas as well as elements of the Muslim Brotherhood, noted in 2007 by Counterterrorism Blog.? CAIR's co-founders Omar Ahmed and Nihad Awad were placed at a 1993 meeting in Philadelphia where Hamas members and supporters strategized ways to kill the Oslo Accords. Hooper has been quoted as saying in 1993, ?I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future...But I'm not going to do anything violent to promote that. I'm going to do it through education.?

James Lafferty, who leads the Virginia Anti-Sharia Task Force, is asking that interested citizens come attend the event next Wednesday night, as a way to counter possible interruption from the CAIR activists.?It is important to note that CAIR has had a history showing up in large numbers in an effort to intimidate, as they did with the Fairfax County Planning Commission in 2009.

Source: http://maroonedinmarin.blogspot.com/2013/02/bullies-at-cair-try-to-shut-down-feb-20.html

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Official says Afghanistan ready to take over

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A Kabul official has welcomed President Barack Obama's decision to bring home half of the 66,000 American troops in Afghanistan with the next year, saying Afghan forces are ready to take responsibility for the country's security.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said on Wednesday that Afghan troops will fill the "vacuum" caused by the withdrawal of 34,000 U.S. troops over the next 12 months.

Obama told Americans about his decision in his State of the Union speech. He had earlier briefed Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Karzai's office said the two leaders discussed strengthening and equipping the Afghan forces and a pending security agreement that will determine whether the U.S. will retain soldiers here after most foreign troops leave at the end of 2014.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/official-says-afghanistan-ready-over-053532320.html

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Shapiro: The true state of the union -- stymied

By Walter Shapiro

For Barack Obama, Tuesday?s State of the Union address is the last in a five-month sequence of formal political speeches, delivered in star-spangled settings and broadcast on prime-time television, dating back to the Democratic convention. After the partisan applause in the House chamber dies down Tuesday night, the next time Obama will speak to the nation during the evening will be, in all likelihood, a time of crisis or national grieving.

Obama?s 2012 convention speech was about polls and swing states. His inaugural address was a moment for eloquent symbolism, which he achieved with his unequivocal endorsement of gay rights. A second-term State of the Union address is different: What matters are not the words but the policy.

Obama should answer three questions: Now that the election is over, what do I truly believe? What is the order of my priorities? And what will I not accept from Congress under any circumstance?

Like every White House since the news was delivered by telegraph, the Obama team has been leaking the themes of the speech to the press in order to create the right mood of frenzied anticipation. Over the weekend, the Washington Post (?In State of the Union, Obama to return to jobs and the economy?) and the New York Times (?In Address, President Will Focus on Middle Class?) ran similar? stories based on conversations with purportedly press-shy Obama aides ?who discussed the speech on condition of anonymity.?

Few Americans would fault the president?s intent to build his speech around the financial woes of the middle class. (By the way, does anyone in Washington still possess an old-fashioned dictionary in which the word ?poverty? is listed in the P?s along with ?politics? and ?polls??). Previewing the State of the Union in a speech to House Democrats last week, Obama declared that America needs ?an economy in which we?re growing a vibrant middle class?that it grows from the middle out and the bottom up, not from the top down.?

Who could argue with that dream? With 12.3 million Americans unemployed (roughly the population of Pennsylvania), the anemic recovery has created lost generations. Students who left school in 2008?whether with a Ph.D. or a high-school diploma?may never make up the loss in lifetime earnings from the economic collapse. Mature workers who had anticipated maintaining their standard of living until retirement have faced the rude realities of downward mobility: Family incomes for those between 50 and 65 have declined by 10 percent in the past three years.

The challenge for Obama in the State of the Union is the mismatch between the magnitude of the current economic malaise and the resources that he can summon to deal with it.

A $25 billion or even a $50 billion program (these numbers are guesses, not leaks) to rebuild American?s infrastructure or to encourage lifelong learning may sound impressive in the context of Tuesday night?s rhetoric. But a stimulus like that represents chump change in a $15 trillion economy.

Obama would need the persuasive skills of a Bill Clinton and the legislative mastery of a Lyndon Johnson to maneuver even a modest agenda of new federal spending through the Republican-controlled House. Even though not-quoted-by-name Obama aides insist that any new spending would be balanced by corresponding budget cuts, a large segment of Congress (not confined to Republicans) would argue that such savings should be directly applied to the deficit.

President Obama is, in effect, hamstrung by the politics of austerity that he successfully championed as Candidate Obama. It made sense in 2012 electoral terms to talk about a ?balanced approach? to deficit reduction and to downplay any need for further economic stimulus. Even last week, in his speech to House Democrats, Obama stressed his desire for ?a balanced package that will reduce our long-term deficit and debt.?

The problem is that, without tax reform to raise revenue, it is impossible to simultaneously pay down the deficit and jumpstart the economy through federal programs. Talking about (yes, I do hate the phrase) ?a balanced package? obviously polls well for Obama. But to govern is to make choices, and Obama?s roadmap appears to be the route of symbolic gestures and micro-initiatives rather than robust recovery.

The Scrooge McDuck obsession with premature budget cutting compounds the problem for both Obama and the economy. By any rational standard of economic decision-making, it is ludicrous that $85 billion in automatic across-the-board budget cuts are slated to take effect on March 1, slicing everything from FEMA disaster relief to the Navy Seals. Largely because of obstreperous Republicans, Washington is also facing another government shutdown at the end of March when current funding runs out.

A stagnant economy and a dysfunctional Congress are dreary and depressing topics that have been dominating the news since the economic meltdown began on Wall Street in mid-September 2008. No matter how intense the individual suffering from job loss and dashed hopes, there is little that Obama can say on Tuesday night that will spark a visceral response. We have simply been down this road for too long for any presidential utterance on the economy to seem fresh.

That is why?no matter how Obama?s speech is structured?the crusade against gun violence is almost certain to become its emotional heart. Already, congressional Democrats are making certain that grieving relatives and survivors of the Newtown shootings will have VIP seats in the House gallery for the State of the Union. Images of the 20 small children who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School have seared the soul of Obama, a president who rarely shows emotion. And undoubtedly Tuesday night?s speech will reflect those tearful memories.

Yet gun control represents another issue where the president?s stirring words are at odds with the timidity of what is legislatively possible. Already, leading Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have expressed skepticism that an assault weapons ban could make it through Congress.

In a violent nation with more than 300 million guns in circulation, it is difficult to assess how many lives would be saved by preventing the future sales of the most lethal weaponry. As the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service pointed out in a November 2012 report, ?Existing data do not show whether the number of people shot and killed with semiautomatic assault weapons declined during the 10-year period (1994-2004) that those firearms were banned from further proliferation in the United States.?

Probably the only gun legislation with a realistic chance of making it through Congress would expand federal background checks to cover private gun shows and other unregulated sales. While any political victory over the zealots of the NRA has merit, it is illusionary to believe that better background checks alone would prevent most future massacres in elementary schools and movie theaters.

From 1998 to 2009 (the data is from the invaluable Congressional Research Service report), fewer than 2 percent of all would-be gun buyers flunked their federal background checks. Most of those banned under federal law were either felons or convicted of domestic abuse. Almost every other adult American ? including some who are deranged ? can currently buy guns legally and would continue to do so under any legislation that might pass Congress during Obama?s presidency.

As Obama stands before the Congress and the nation Tuesday night?a re-elected leader at the height of his recent popularity?it is worth remembering the limits on presidential power in an era of divided government.

The 44th president may harbor bold dreams and express them in lilting language. But when it comes to legislating, he lives, alas, in an era of incremental gestures and truncated ambitions. The true state of the union in 2013 is stymied.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama%E2%80%99s-state-of-the-union-address--joblessness--gun-violence-and-budgetary-gridlock-will-still-be-here-when-it%E2%80%99s-over-163041242.html

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Mobile Accessibility Landscape Update | SSB BART Group

This post represents an update to the mobile accessibility landscape post from June 2012.

Cell phone and other mobile device usage is growing at a fast pace. The way we use mobile devices continues to evolve and increase. Use of mobile retail, financial and other apps continues to increase and open more opportunities to how we use mobile devices in everyday life. The benefits to people with disabilities are potentially more dramatic than those for the general population. Accessible mobile devices increase the ability of people with disabilities to communicate, shop, learn, integrate, and interact with society. Common mobile devices can replace expensive specialized devices that many people with disabilities rely on such as augmentative and alternative communication devices, way finding, and reading. The trend toward mobile use can be seen among the disability community via the most recent WebAim Screen Reader Survey 4 reported that 71.8 percent of respondents indicated that they use a screen reader on a mobile device, a 600 percent increase in mobile screen reader usage since the first survey was conducted just 17 months ago. This also suggests a large shift away from ?feature phones? to ?smart phones?.

Feature phones are closed devices which run software written by the manufacturer and embedded into the firmware of the phone. They generally do not allow for the development, installation or launching of third-party applications. As with all closed devices, any existing accessibility support is built into the device by the manufacturer or provided by attaching a peripheral device. The number of feature phones on the market which include accessibility features is very small, and none of the feature phones on the market today provide access to all functions of the device for all users. In contrast, smartphones run operating systems which may or may not be developed by the phone manufacturer and allow for the development, installation and launching of third-party applications. This approach has created numerous new opportunities for people with disabilities by allowing them to gain access to a greater number of the device?s features (all features in some instances) and also to a large number of third-party applications. The availability and demand for included and third-party assistive technologies on many smartphones today has allowed users with disabilities to make the shift to smartphone devices along with their peers. As the trend is clearly moving in the direction of smartphones, this post will focus on the accessibility of the major smartphone and mobile platforms.

The iPhone from Apple revolutionized the cell phone industry and continues to be a market leader today. The iPhone was one of the first to exclusively use a touch screen interface as its sole method of input and control. As such, initial iPhone models posed accessibility challenges for many constituents with disabilities. Apple has listened to the demand from the disability community and, with the release of the iPhone 3GS in 2009, the Voiceover screen reader which is built into the Mac desktop platform was introduced into the iPhone. Apple devised a unique set of gestures to allow a user to nonvisually control the iPhone using Voiceover. As a user?s finger moves over or taps an element, the name of the element is spoken. Double tapping on the screen activates the element which has focus. A user can flick their finger from the left side of the screen to the right side to navigate through the elements in sequence without having to know the element?s onscreen location, and a right-to-left flick gesture sequentially navigates in reverse order. Over the past four years Apple has introduced a number of features to better improve the accessibility of the iPhone. Some of the other available features on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad include:

• Alternative input and output modalities available through the support of a number of Bluetooth keyboards and refreshable Braille Displays
• The assistive technology Zoom, which enlarges the entire screen up to 500 percent. This feature works across all apps and is similar but different from the pinch zoom features that can be found in some apps such as browsers.
• AssistiveTouch, which allows for gesture creation and support for adaptive input devices. This feature allows one touch point access to gestures that might normally require multiple touch points. This feature allows users who may be using a head pointer or mouth stick to operate iOS devices and apps. iOS devices have capacitance based screens ? thus, special styli available for a nominal price are needed for alternative touch input.
• Invert colors, which inverts the colors on the screen ? dark colors become light and light colors become dark. This feature is often used by people with low vision to create a high contrast type view with colors that may be less harsh.
• Siri introduced with the iPhone 4s which allows the user to control many features of the device and retrieve information using speech recognition
• Hearing aid and TTY compatibility, support for open and closed captioning within iTunes and customizable vibratory alerts for users who are deaf or hard of hearing

For a review of the Apple iPad tablet which runs on the same platform that powers the iPhone, see iPad Accessibility ? My Perspective. The introduction of these features and improved accessibility over time demonstrates Apple?s continued commitment to universal access for all. This commitment is further demonstrated by a Siri promotional video which includes a blind iPhone user and a video shown at Apple?s developer conference featuring several iPhone users with disabilities. Apple?s commitment to universal design and the level of accessibility built directly into the iPhone has made it increasingly popular among users with disabilities. As an example, WebAim reported in its Screen Reader Survey 4 results that Apple accounts for 58.5 percent of primary mobile screen reader users, up from 32.6 percent in just 17 months and notably higher than usage for the standard population. Another reason that the iPhone has gained popularity is that many iPhone apps are highly accessible using the Voiceover screen reader without extra effort on the part of the developer as demonstrated by this iPhone app directory.

Apple continues to improve the accessibility of the iPhone and further demonstrate its commitment to all users. New accessibility features in version 6 of iOS include:

• Guided access, which allows the user to focus on the task at hand by restricting touch input to one app or area of the screen (for more on Guided Access watch this video demonstration of Guided Access
• Voiceover support for the redesigned Maps app that will be included with the new iOS release
• The ability to run Voiceover concurrently with Zoom and AssistiveTouch (not possible with versions before 6)
• Support for upcoming third-party Bluetooth 4.0 hearing aids designed for the iPhone 4s

iOS related accessibility best practices for app development can be found at webaccessibility.com.

Android is an open-source operating system for mobile phones created by Google. Android phones currently dominate the standard cell phone market but receive significantly lower usage among some disability user groups. For example, the WebAIM Screen Reader Survey 4 results indicated that only 7.9 percent of respondents use Android as their primary mobile platform. While Google makes phones which run the Android OS such as the Galaxy Nexus, phones which run Android are available from other manufacturers, giving the consumer choice over which Android-powered phone they wish to use. One down side to this approach is that many of the Android-powered phones cannot run the latest version of the Android OS, Android 4.2.1 (also called Ice Jelly bean). One benefit to using the Galaxy Nexus line of phones and tablets such as the Nexus 7 is that they are updated directly by Google whenever new versions of the operating system (OS) are available and accessibility is included by default.

The open source philosophy behind Android has led to the adoption of a more ?wild west? model of accessibility where developers are expected to create accessibility solutions rather than having them provided centrally. Still, Google did introduce some accessibility features into previous version starting with Android 1.6, including:

• TalkBack ? an included service which speaks the results of actions, events and notifications
• KickBack ? a service which provides haptic (vibratory) feedback for different actions
• SoundBack ? a service which plays sounds for different actions

Since phone manufacturers have complete control over how Android is provided with their phone, some of these accessibility services have been removed from their Android distribution. If this occurs, users can still often download TalkBack, KickBack and SoundBack from the Android Play market. Manufacturers have also been known to replace default Android apps such as the home screen with their own customized versions. Even within Google?s core Android distribution, Android accessibility solutions often had to be pieced together. For example, the home screen which shipped with Android 2.1 was not compatible with TalkBack, requiring users to replace it with an alternate interface called the eyes-free shell.

Google has continued to improve the accessibility of Android with subsequent versions. For example, in earlier versions of the platform TalkBack only announced components which gained focus via a keyboard or four-way directional pad, limiting its use to phones possessing these functions. Google solved this problem by introducing a ?virtual keyboard? into a subsequent version which emulated keyboard entry on phones which only possessed a touch screen. The latest version of the Android platform 4.2.1 contains accessibility improvements such as Explore by Touch which allows a user to touch their screen and hear the name of an object under their finger, and additional accessibility options to modify the font size and sound settings of the phone. The current version also provides a gesture to nonvisually activate TalkBack and Explore by Touch during initial phone setup which previously could only be enabled via the Accessibility Settings menu. Increased support for the default browser including its accessibility when embedded in app?s were also included via an accessibility option. In addition, additional gestures were introduced including a gesture to read the entire screen, move back a screen, and activate the home screen. However, the Android platform still does not include an invert colors accessibility option. While version 4.0 of the Android platform did include the Explore by Touch feature it was not truly usable by a person who is blind until version Android 4.1. With the combined features for default and embedded browser support in Android 4.2 the Android platform finally contains the required elements for independent use by people who are blind or visually impaired.

The open architecture design of the Android platform allows for the easy development of third-party assistive technologies and accessibility solutions. As an example, alternatives to the TalkBack screen reader are available. One such alternative is an open-source screen reader called Spiel which provides a JavaScript-compatible scripting interface to control or limit the presentation of poorly-behaving widgets. Code Factory, manufacturers of screen reading software for several mobile platforms, makes a commercial screen access package for the Android platform called Mobile Accessibility. It consists of a screen reader which offers output through speech synthesis and supported refreshable Braille displays, and input via a keyboard and trackball, touch screen gestures, and speech recognition. The full product also comes with a suite of 12 apps to provide alternate access to the Android-included apps for features of the phone and the operating system, including an alternate web browser and music player. (The web browser and music player are also available as separate purchases independent of the screen reader and apps suite.) Several carriers make branded versions of Mobile Accessibility available to their customers with disabilities free of charge. In the United States, AT&T makes the suite of accessible apps available free to customers under the name Mobile Accessibility Lite. Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA make the apps available free to their customers under the name Wireless Accessibility.

In spite of the limitations and fragmentation of Android accessibility, the Android platform has a loyal user base with disabilities. This Android app directory as of this writing contains submissions for 253 apps which were reviewed for compatibility with Android screen access software.

Like Apple, Google continues to make accessibility improvements in Android as new versions of the platform are released. In 2012 Google released Android Jellybean (4.2) Additional enhancements included:

• Speech recognition is now local to the device, no longer requiring the device to be connected to the Internet in order to use it
• Gesture support allowing for greater nonvisual control of the device using the touch screen
• Native support for refreshable Bluetooth Braille displays

For more on accessibility developments and implementing accessibility in Android apps, check out this Android accessibility video presentation from Google I/O 2012. Android related app development best practices are also provided on webaccessibility.com.

The Blackberry is a device manufactured by Blackberry (formerly Research in Motion (RIM)). Like the iPhone, Blackberry exclusively makes the hardware which is powered by the Blackberry operating system (Blackberry OS). The Blackberry was one of the first convergent devices on the market to offer a phone with access to corporate E-mail, web browsing functionality and connectivity to corporate networks. Blackberry devices receive wide popularity among the government and corporate industries because of their ability to meet organizational security requirements and interface with internal networks.

Many Blackberry devices provide features to support users with disabilities. The accessibility support however has not consistently been brought to new versions of the phone and to the Playbook tablet. Some available features include

In addition, Blackberry recently released the Blackberry screen reader that formerly was Oratio as a free, downloadable assistive technology for the Blackberry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones. It provides nonvisual access to core applications such as the phone, E-mail, calendar and text messaging.

Recently Blackberry announce version 10 of its operating system and included mention of several accessibility features that will be provided. These features include a magnification option, font size adjustment, and TTY support, however, no screen reader support for Blackberry OS version 10 is provided. Little information was also provided on accessibility applications programming interface (API) information for version 10 of the OS.

Windows Phone 8 introduces some new accessibility features. Previously Windows Phone 7 did not provide accessibility support for third party assistive technology. This was a step back from the prior version of Windows Mobile which allowed third party assistive technologies such as the Mobile Speak products from Code Factory. Windows 8 phone includes support for screen magnification, high contrast, and large fonts. Currently, there is no support for screen readers and no screen reader API available to attract third party screen reader creation.

Windows 8 Surface RT tablets provide accessibility features that are also found in Windows 8. Surface RT is a touchscreen tablet that work exclusively with apps from the Windows store ? but otherwise functions just like Windows 8. These features include the Narrator screen reader in addition to the magnification, high contrast, and similar large font features found in Windows Phone 8. Touch support is provided in addition to keyboard based support for the Narrator screen reader. Additionally, support for the web browser and many included apps is provided with Narrator ? this is a great improvement from the support Narrator provided on older versions of desktop operating systems such as Windows 7.

Additionally, Windows 8 Surface RT provides many of the other accessibility features found in Windows 8 such as Speech Recognition, various forms of input found on other mobile tablets like on-screen keyboards, blue tooth support, however, braille support is not provided by Narrator. Because the Surface RT only works with apps from the Windows store it is not possible to install third party assistive technologies on it ? unless they meet the requirements for the Windows Store. The Windows Surface Pro however allows for the installation of third party applications like assistive technologies that were designed for Windows 7 and higher.

Many fundamental accessibility best practices will apply to mobile interfaces and content. Text and images must meet relevant requirements for sufficient color contrast, screens must be laid out in an order that permits intuitive sequential navigation, controls must respond to multiple modalities of input, and components must communicate correct information about the name, state, role and value of each component. Visit the best practices library at webaccessibility.com for iOS and Android development best practices.

This entry was posted by Jonathan Avila on February 11th, 2013 and is filed under SSB BART Group. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: https://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/2013/02/11/mobile-accessibility-landscape-update/

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